Turning Tides
by XBluexMonarchX
Summary: Life is like sea salt ice cream; sometimes it's sweet, sometimes it's salty. You eat it too fast, and you get a brain freeze. When it's gone, you may be a winner. RokuShi, slight RokuNami and RikuShi.
1. New Students and Meteor Showers

**Alright, this is my FIRST chapter fanfic! I'm SOOOO excited right now! Everyone, please note that this is going to be a LOOOONNNGGG story, maybe about…30+ chapters? I'll try not to be a meanie and update every month to get you guys angry, I would NEVER do that! I'll try to update about…every few days.**

**I hope you enjoy my Xioxas fanfic. Cheeseballs! (Btw this is Xion's POV, with a little POVS from Roxas)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, but if I did I wouldn't make Xion die in 358/2 Days (oops, spoiler!)**

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New Students and Meteor Showers

She stepped into homeroom with some sort of stride that I can never pull off, the graceful kind that only the snobby, stuck-up girls in chick-flicks can do. She introduced herself to the classroom, Mr. Xehanort, my homeroom teacher, right by her side. She spoke with a voice barely audible, like how I spoke on my first school day at my former grade school.

"My name is Namine Watanabe. I came here from Destiny Islands…" She stopped for a brief 5 seconds, and then added, "I like to draw." Without being told to she sat down immediately at the last empty desk, the one next to Olette Migami. She primly laced her fingers together and gingerly placed them on her lap, crossing her ankles simultaneously.

I was shortly awakened from my reverie as Kairi Igarashi, my best friend, snapped her fingers in front of me and shouted, very loudly, "EARTH TO XI-CHAN! ANSWER ME!"

I stumbled backwards on her living room floor, hitting my head on the coffee table that just _happened _to be behind me. I yelped in pain, and Kairi just simply laughed at me.

"What a friend you are…" I mumbled.

She heard this and scooted closer to me, giving me a giant bear hug. "I'm sowwy, Xi-chan. I would _never_ do anything like it again."

"Thank you. And when did you ever start calling me Xi-chan?"

She lifted her arms off me and scooted back on the rug. "You know Sora Fujima, the guy whom I've had a crush on since kindergarten? Well, he started calling me Kai-chan." The blush on her face was clearly evident as she said 'Sora'. It's ALSO very evident that they both like each other, and Sora, should just ask her out. Or Kairi should ask _him_ out.

"Back to the subject. What do you think about that new girl, Namine? She's in homeroom and biology with me."

"Oh, her?" I asked, very dumb. "Uh, I _guess_ she's okay. But the weird thing is, she's in _all_ of my classes, and the only person who shares all of my classes is Roxas." Ah, yes, Roxas. Besides Kairi, he was my other best friend, one who understood me a bit more than Kairi. We both loved sea-salt ice cream, we both played RPGs, and we both skateboarded. Kairi never really understood all of these things.

"Do you think she can be our friend? Like, maybe hang out with us sometime?" Kairi suggested. She was an extremely charismatic person-she is friends with EVERYONE in the eighth grade at our school.

"I dunno, Kairi. We have to get to _know_ her!"

"Yup, that's why I invited her to sit with us and the crew at lunch tomorrow!" Kairi exclaimed excitedly. I, on the other hand, was completely dumbfounded.

"You…did?"

"Uh-huh! We first have to agree on whether she's nice or not, and if she likes everyone at the table. Then she can officially sit with us at lunch."

"Sure Kairi. Let's just get back to homework." We only had biology homework, and we were in the same biology class, so we usually work on it together.

My name is Xion Koizumi. I have black, raven-like hair that stops at my shoulders. I'm not very popular at my school, Lockhart Junior High **(A/N: Hehe, I chose Lockhart because Tifa's great-grandfather is the founder of Twilight Town! She will pop up in the story, and the FF characters have non-Japanese names, the world is Japanese)**, but I _do _have some friends. Kairi Igarashi, my popular BFF, Roxas Okabe, my best guy friend whom I've known longer than Kairi-we were in pre-school together, Sora Fujima, and Riku Shiname. It's always been weird, having three guys at a lunch table and two girls. If we can befriend Namine, then the table will be evened out when it comes to gender.

I was over at Kairi's house, like I usually was afterschool (my house is VERY boring), and we would do homework and talk about school and life and love. Her adoptive father (She was separated from her parents, and was raised by her grandmother until she, meaning her grandmother, died. She was then adopted by the mayor of Twilight Town) would make the most _delicious _iced tea, and to end my visit we would kick back on the leather sofa in the living room and watch reruns of _The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Lucky Star, _and_ Angel Beats!, _our favorite animes. I would leave at 7:30 and eat dinner, wash my school uniform, do stuff before I went to bed, and then I would go to bed.

My bed is where I'm at now. My pillow feels frigid cold, so I turn it over and lay on it again. It feels warm, and I rest my head back down. I turn over on my side and I read the clock across the room. 12:53. I turned back around, shut my eyes, and attempted to doze off.

Suddenly I feel a cold rush of air against my body snug inside my sheets. The breeze was so cold it chilled my bones right through my sheets, causing me to shiver. I sit, trying to identify where the chilly air came from, and through the corner of my eye I see a flash of spiky blonde hair. It was near the window, and then I began to see more of that hair. I soon realize who it was…

"Roxas!" I whispered rather loudly. "What in the name of cucumbers are you doing?"

My room was on the first floor, on the left side of the house. Roxas was pretty tall, so he could easily peek through the window. "Do you wanna go stargazing? I bet you there's gonna be a meteor shower." He grinned deviously, not really understanding the fact that it was almost one in the morning and it was super cold outside!

I thought about it for a while, and then I exchanged the same devious grin. "Sure. Let's do it. Just wait a sec-I need to get on my coat and scarf."

I quietly tiptoed towards my closet to retrieve my uniform coat and scarf. Ever since December came the temperature dropped drastically. It was so cold every student _desperately_ needed a jacket-there wasn't any kid in Twilight Town that owned a jacket, because the school just gives them one at winter. I slipped on my hiking boots, and I left on my pajamas, since the navy-blue-colored coat practically covered all of my body, excluding the neck-up and ankle-down. Soon, I was ready to go stargazing.

I placed a basketball under the sheets of my bed, along with a lot of clothes that were scattered on my bedroom floor, just to make it look like I was sound asleep. Then I jumped out the window (lucky my room was on the first floor!) and walked with Roxas towards a hill that was _great_ for stargazing. We would've gone to the clock tower, our _favorite_ hang-out spot, but we were sure the clock tower was closed at one in the morning. In Twilight Town, it never snows, astonishingly, so we didn't have to worry about getting our butts wet sitting down.

It was extremely dark outside, the sky a shade of charcoal-black. Roxas, however, could actually _see_ in the dark, so he held my hand to guide me. He actually laced his fingers with mine, like we were on a date or something. The actual _thought_ of going on a date with Roxas made me blush. Not that I'm _into_ him like that! I hope I'm not…

"Here's the place." Roxas' voice broke through my thoughts and I smiled. The moon gave off some light, so I could see a bit better. He had led me through a forest and into a clearing with a small hill right in the center. We sat down smack-dab in the middle of the hill, and when I looked up at the sky my face literally lit up.

The sky was bursting with stars, some humongous, some utterly small, yet in my opinion I thought they were all stunning. I stole a glance at Roxas, who was, as well, looking up at the stars. I could hear him utter one single word, "Whoa."

My heart skipped a beat when he scooted in closer to me, to the point where his hand brushed over mine. I began blushing profusely. But why was I blushing? I never felt that way about Roxas. He was just my best friend, but…do I really like him?

My thoughts were, again, interrupted by Roxas as he shouted quietly, "A meteor shower! I knew it!"

I looked up at the sky, and there before me, was a meteor shower. There were fast, traveling lights, crossing over each other, and then disappearing somewhere beyond the forest. They were better than fireworks. Hell, they weren't even the equivalent of a light show! It was more than that. It was just…natural beauty.

Roxas was just as dazed as I was. I suddenly found myself tired, and I rested my head on Roxas' shoulder, causing him to make a weird noise. I giggled, and I soon fell asleep. As far as I can recall, I remember waking up under the sheets of my bed, in my coat and scarf, looking at the clock across my room which read 6:58. Approximately an hour till school starts. To top it off, it was Tuesday, my favorite day of the week.

I bet Roxas carried me home.

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**Gomen na sai! Sorry for the short chapter, it's just a little prologue. I promise longer chapters on the way!**

**Awwww, how sweet was it of Roxas to carry Xi-chan home! Is there something special between the two friends? Does Xion like Roxas more than a friend? Is Roxas creeped out by the fact Xion slept on his shoulder? Read on to find out!**

**Review, review, review! I would LUV if you gave me feedback. I'm also thinking of pairings, yet I've already figured out who the primary characters are going to be with. Any suggestions, tell me!**

**Btw, Xion said, "What in the name of cucumbers are you doing?" I had said this to my mom one day when she was throwing out some of my beloved Vlasic pickles that were in the fridge for MONTHS! They still tasted good!**

**Ciao!**


	2. The More, The Merrier

**Thank you for reviewing, readers! Only one review, but that's ok! This chapter may be a bit boring, but I promise better and much more intriguing ones in the future!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, blah blah blah, how many times do I have to say this?**

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The More, the Merrier

"Omigod, that's soooooo romantic!" Kairi squealed, completely forgetting that Roxas was walking into Homeroom that instant.

"_What's _so romantic?" Roxas asked, taking his usual seat behind me. Why did Kairi talk so _loud_?

"Oh, it's nothing. Kairi and I were just talking about, uh…." I hesitated. I wish I never told Kairi about meeting Roxas last night. Who knows, _maybe_ she'll tell the whole eighth grade! And then people started adding stuff to it, until it comes to me and Roxas making out under the faint glow of the starry sky…like that'd ever happen…why am I thinking about this?

"An episode of _Angel Beats! _that I missed!" Kairi finished my sentence. Who knew she'd play along? "Episode 10, when Hinata proposed to Yui! And then she got obliterated. Xion was just filling me on the details." When Roxas wasn't looking she gave me a curt wink.

"Oh. Well, uh, cool." He replied nonchalantly, and then starting whistling. It was apparent he never heard of _Angel Beats_; I never got a chance to suggest it to him.

We were sort of early to Homeroom, which starts at 8:05. Mr. Xehanort had that scary, strict-teacher look about him, but once you got to know him, he was pretty nice. Except when he's grilling you about being late to class, _that's_ when he's scary.

Kairi and I used our early minutes to discuss animes, mangas, who's hot and who's not (Kairi goes on and on with this topic, I only list a few people), and so-and-so. It's amazing how we manage to cover all of the topics in only a limited amount of time-Kairi's a fast talker, which is a very useful perk.

Soon the first period bell rang and Mr. Xehanort ushered himself in. The new girl, Namine, was sitting next to Olette again, and was drawing something in her sketchbook she always seems to carry around. Even though Namine sits two seats in front of me, I couldn't exactly make out what she was drawing.

"Good morning, class," Sensei exclaimed, a smile forming on his face. He started talking about an upcoming field trip after winter break (Only two weeks away! Woot!) and he handed out permission slips. Apparently all of the eighth grade would be going to a region that was called 'The Land of the Dragons', where we would study and take notes on Asian culture and dragons. It sounded fun enough; it would be a pleasant treat after a week's worth of final exams.

Soon enough we were dismissed and Kairi and I parted ways, Kairi on her way to 2nd period English and me on my way to 2nd period Math, my least favorite class (being taught by the Grinch Mr. Saix!). My classes went smoothly, except for the fact Sensei Saix had snarled at me for getting an easy question wrong during Exam Prep. At least I got to drown out my sorrows at lunch, where the lunch people were serving chicken udon and dumplings! Yum!

And then I realized that Namine was sitting with us at the regular lunch table. Lurvely.

I took my place in the lunch line, my lunch money stuffed in the breast pocket of my school uniform. Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain in my ankle, causing me to topple over the girl in front of me in line, who was…Namine?

We both fell to the ground with a loud thud. I had taken quite a blow to my stomach, which had hit the ground first. Namine, nonetheless, seemed to have not taken any damage at all, and simply just stood up, brushing off the blue tartan skirt of her uniform. At first I thought she was going to ignore me and turn back to the lunch line, acting like the quiet girl she was, but instead she bent down and extended her hand towards me, mouthing, _Are you okay?_

I replied with a "Yeah," and I took hold of her hand. In response she pulled me up, and she brusquely smiled at me, which took me off guard. I returned that same friendly smile back to her.

She then turned back around and continued waiting in line. It suddenly hit me, what happened right then. I was pretty sure someone tripped me, but who? I decided to just shake off the whole thing and just wait in line. Besides, what's better than a hot, steaming bowl of udon?

Once I received my food and handed my cash to the lunch ladies, I walked out of line with my tray. On my way to the table I could see a perplexed Namine a few feet away, standing with her tray in her grasp, scanning the cafeteria for a table, I could tell. I bet she was wondering where our table was.

Without thinking I started walking up to her. I gripped her left wrist, which was holding the left side of her tray, and I pulled her to the regular table without uttering a word. Her baffled expression turned into a bewildered one as I signaled her to sit down at the table, with everyone already there. I took my seat next to Roxas, placing my tray on the table.

"Uh, Xion," Sora started, "Who is this?" He adopted that _same_ confused face Namine had when I pulled her to the table. Sora wasn't in homeroom with Roxas, Kairi and I, and I knew he was only in one class with her, yet Sora is so oblivious I bet if his legs weren't attached to his pelvis he would forget them and keep doing whatever he was doing.

Namine was sitting on the other side of Roxas, and began tugging on his shirt. His cheeks turned a deep crimson and I giggled.

"This is Namine. I invited her to sit with us today, since she's new to the school." Kairi answered for me. "And it seems she's taken a liking to Roxas all of a sudden!" She joined in on my giggling and soon enough everyone started laughing, except Namine, who was still yanking on my best friend's uniform.

"Hello." She retorted quietly. All of a sudden, she started smiling, and directs a large spoonful of udon into her mouth. Then Riku starts telling us a story about what he had did on the internet, where he poses as a 44 year old ice cream woman named 'Ima Rober' on an internet dating site. He tells us that in a week eleven guys, all from prison, wanted to date him.

Everyone at the table, including Namine, started sharing funny stories, and we all laughed and had fun. I had to admit, Namine had a wicked sense of humor. She told us a story about what she had done to her father after he didn't show up to her old school's art show. Apparently her father had an 'emergency meeting' at work and couldn't attend, so in return, she had hid his briefcase behind a TV in her old living room. Her mother was watching her favorite soap opera, and did _not_ want to be disturbed. Her dad made so much noise seeking his briefcase in the living room that it earned him a harsh scolding from his wife! Namine said it was side-splitting.

We were laughing so loud I think we couldn't hear the 5th period bell ring. I didn't think we noticed kids leaving either. It was I who prompted everyone that we were exactly two minutes late, and I knew Mr. Vexen, my biology teacher, wouldn't take being tardy very well. I was right all the way. He screamed at us ('us' meaning me, Kairi, Roxas, and Namine, for we shared the same biology class) for, I dunno, 10 minutes? At least that shortened class time. The duration of class was mainly Exam Prep, and he reviewed us on genetics, making us say the horrid 'deoxyribonucleic acid' three times!** (A/N: Omigod, yes, I had to say this once in Science one day at school. It's complete and utter hell!) **

The last few classes at school went by pretty quickly. As soon as the last bell rang swarms of students departed each classroom and headed out the main door. Some would stay back in classrooms for extra help, and some would go to extracurricular activities. I never really liked afterschool activities. I joined the Cooking club in seventh grade, yet every time I tried baking chocolate chip cookies they would be burnt to a crisp. Oh well, I guess cooking wasn't my strong suit **(A/N: Mine either!)**.

Kairi was the Student Body president, and she stayed afterschool for half an hour every other Tuesday. On these days I would walk home with Roxas, do homework with him, and probably go out for ice cream and play video games. Roxas, however, had other plans…

"Xion," He told me, "Is it okay if Namine walks home with us? It's her first day with friends here at school and I really think we should get to know her better."

I wasn't so sure. I liked it better when it was just Roxas and I; it felt good walking down the school path back to his house, huddling next to him for warmth. We would have a soothing conversation, better than conversations Kairi and I share. With him…I just felt secure.

But I had to give Namine a chance. Besides, the more, the merrier.

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**How did you like the chapter? Was it boring? Probably was. But the next one is gonna be juicy…and LOOONNNGGG!**

**Tinge: Thx 4 the feedback! Yes, I know Japanese names **_**can**_** get unfitting, but hey, just imagine that they're American! **

**About Riku when he went on that dating site: I got 'Ima Rober' from the Sims 3, and my household got robbed by a lady named 'Imma Robber'! It was hysterical!**

**Also, I got the word 'lurvely' from the TTYL series by Lauren Myracle. Read it!**

**Buh-Bye!**


	3. Fun, Giggles, and Truth

**Yay! Six reviews already! That's pretty good, I love to hear feedback! **

**Just to let you know, I am fully aware of the Japanese school system, how school starts in spring and ends near winter. I wanted to make the school system a bit twisted, so schools would have Japanese children with an American school system. The people in the story, besides some FF characters and OCs, ARE Japanese, but American people are from Radiant Garden, the America for this fanfic. Just a heads-up.**

**Are you ready for this EXPLOSIVE new chapter? I hope you are!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own KH, and I don't own 'Baby Got Back' or any of the listed animes.**

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Fun, Giggles, and Truth

"Wow, Namine, that's incredible!" Roxas exclaimed with a bit _too _much enthusiasm. On cue Namine's cheeks turned a deep burgundy and smiled from ear-to-ear.

Namine, while we were walking down the school path, was drawing the exact same scene, the three of us walking down the school path. It _was_ pretty amazing how she could depict us in the three minutes we had been walking.

"Arigatou, Roxas-kun." She kept her ridiculously large grin and sketched her school-lent scarf, swathed snug against her neck. "I'll outline and color it when I get home."

"Namine," I said, "Why don't you join the art club? That'd be a good way to show off your artistic abilities."

"I don't know, Xion. I already checked the days the art club met, and I'm busy on those days. Actually I'm busy practically every day of the week."

"Busy doing what?" I asked.

Namine sighed raucously. "I have to help my mom cook dinner for my five younger siblings, and then I have to do homework and stuff like that. My dad is a busy worker, so he's not around a lot to help us. In fact, the only reason I live in Twilight Town now is because my father got laid off and there were tons of job offers here."

"Man, that must be tough," Roxas added, "What's your dad's job now?"

"He's a clerk at some ice cream company from Hollow Bastion. They moved their headquarters near Tram Common."

Suddenly I got awfully excited. "You mean Ducky's Ice Cream Corporation? They sell sea-salt ice cream! Maybe since your dad works there we can get free ice cream!"

"And you said _I_ was the obsessive one," Roxas chimed in.

My face turned beet red. "I am _not_! I'm just…low on money! It costs me _20 munny_ just to buy one ice cream!"

"Oh, so now you're scrimping, huh?"

"Shut up!" Roxas and Namine just laughed at me, but soon enough I joined in. Roxas suggested getting hot chocolate at this diner, and to help out with my financial, uh, _problems_, he'd pay for all three of us. We obliged and once we bought them we found a booth to sit in. Roxas and Namine sat together on one side whereas I sat on the other.

By now Namine had finished her well-portrayed drawing of the three of us. I especially liked how she drew my hair, shaded in with a glossy shine. I found it weird how she made my hair look sleek and silky through the paper.

I also liked Roxas' hair; she made it look pretty amusing. He looked like a cartoon character with gravity-defying hair sticking out at random angles. Well, maybe a _realistic _cartoon character; the rest of his body seemed so real I thought he could maneuver throughout the scene.

As I sipped my cocoa, I could see Namine whisper something into Roxas' ear, making him laugh. What was so funny all of the sudden?

That's when it dawned on me: what if Namine liked Roxas _more_ than a friend?

It was juvenile for me to think like this, but I just had the most distinct that she did. The way she blushes when he compliments her, the tone of voice she talks to him in. It almost feels like they've known each other for longer than I thought.

But all feelings aside, it was pretty hard for me to imagine Roxas and Namine as an item. Try visualizing the timid artsy girl with the popular skater boy, and whadaya get? A peculiar couple who're both blonde!

Ha, sometimes I wonder if anyone thinks I'm a weirdo.

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"Oh, my, God, Becky, look at her butt, it is so big." Kairi was saying before homeroom the next day.

"Huh?" I said, clueless.

"You don't know that American song? 'Baby Got Back'? It's_ hilarious_; I'll teach you the lyrics."

Soon she had taught me the interlude of the song, which I _do_ find hysterical. Here's what we did:

_**Kairi: Oh, my, God, Becky, look at her butt, it is so big.**_

_**Me: She looks like one of those rap guys' girlfriends.**_

_**Kairi: But, you know, who understands those rap guys?**_

_**Me: They only talk to her, because, she looks like a total **_**prostitute**_**, 'kay?**_

_**Kairi: I mean, her butt, it's just so **_**big**_**. I can't believe it's just so **_**round**_**, it's like, out there, I mean, gross. Look! *points at random girl in classroom***_

_**Xion: She's just so-**_

And before I could say the last word Roxas tapped me on the shoulder and whispered into my ear, "I was saving you from saying something racist."

"Wait-you know the song?" Kairi could hear something from miles away.

"Yup. I took a vacation to Radiant Garden and some guy was blasting it on his stereo." Roxas said, trying to hold in the urge to laugh. Kairi and I did the laughing for him.

"Hey, Xion, I meant to ask you," Kairi started, "I'm having a sleepover on Friday at 5:00, and I've already invited Namine and Olette. Do you wanna come?"

I wasn't really doing anything special that Friday, besides walking home with Kairi. Who would turn down a sleepover, hosted by their _best friend_?

"Sure, but do you remember the last time we had a sleepover involving Olette? She coaxed us to play truth or dare and I had skinny dipped in her outdoor pool in the freezing cold! In _October_!" I told her, not caring that Olette was two seats in front of me. She really _did_ dare me to do it; I bet I traumatized that poor toddler who happened to stumble into Olette's backyard.

"Yeah, and she dared _me_ to drink pickle juice with garlic salt sprinkled in. And I threw up thirteen times. But that's really not the point. If she brings up Truth of Dare during the sleepover I'll call it off, since it's at my house in the first place. You'll be fine." Kairi reassured me, and a second after she said this the 1st period bell rang and Mr. Xehanort walked in.

* * *

The rest of the school-week went by fairly quickly. The only thing primarily interesting was the update on Riku's dating service account (which I am NOT going to explain because it is pure grossness). Exam Prep ended on Friday and by the end of the day the intercom stated that all students should report to the school auditorium for a speech addressed by Principal Marluxia **(A/N: Ha! I made Marly the principal!)**, wishing us good luck on Winter Exams. The final bell rang shortly after the speech and everyone rushed out the auditorium to go home.

Kairi and I walked back to her house, sharing a comforting conversation about the Winter Exams. Mr. Igarashi welcomed us, as usual, and we got to work on decorating the house for the sleepover (school ended at four on Fridays, so the guests would come in an hour). She handled snacks and drinks while I renovated the living room, where we would be sleeping. We finished at 4:31, so we watched a rerun of _Chobits_ on TV until Olette and Namine came.

Olette was first, as usual, but it took thirty minutes for Namine to show up, so we stuffed our faces with more TV to pass the time. While Kairi was browsing, Olette just happened to see one of her favorite afternoon game shows, where people do ridiculously stupid stuff to earn money. Olette laughed the whole time whereas Kairi and I sweatdropped and facepalmed the whole time.

I wish Namine came while the show was going on, so we could turn it off and do whatever we were going to do. But nooooooo, Namine came five minutes after the show went off! Talk about bad luck!

"I'm so sorry I'm late!" She said, dropping her bags onto a pile of our bags beside the front door. "Roxas was showing me around town, and at 5:10 I told him I needed to go to a sleepover, so I had to run back to _my_ house ten minutes away, and it took me about fifteen minutes to reach your house, Kairi. Please forgive me!"

Kairi told her she didn't need to apologize, and she poured everyone her father's ice tea she found in the fridge. We went to her room with our beverages, and Namine looked quite dazed as she entered Kairi's vast room, complete with a loft bed, a desk and a pink laptop under her bed, a swanky pink rug, posters, bean bags, and all sorts of teenage room décor.

"Why can't we just sleep in here?" Namine asked. "Even though it sorta _smells_ bad, it's so big we could all fit in our sleeping bags."

"Well, Nami, that odor is the smell of fresh paint. My room was painted when I was at school. The fumes are not strong enough for us not to stay in here, but they _are_ strong enough for us not to sleep here." Kairi explained, slumping in one of her bean bag chairs. I sat in one near hers, and Olette and Namine (now nicknamed 'Nami', I guess) claimed theirs.

"Okay, so how about we play-" Olette was interrupted by Kairi, who said, "Truth or Dare? Nah, that one's an oldie. Let's play something else." So Kairi _did_ stop her! Awwww, that's so sweet!

"Instead," Kairi started.

Uh-oh. I had a bad feeling about what she was about to say…

"Let's just play Truth! Truth and no dares!"

NOOOOOO!

"Cool!" Olette and Namine said in unison. Well, I had to play anyway. Majority rules.

"I'll start first, and we'll be going counter-clockwise, meaning I'll ask Olette for a truth, Olette would ask Xion for a truth, Xion would ask Namine, and Namine will ask me. Alright?"

"Hai!" Namine, Olette and I said all together.

"Ok. Olette…have you ever kissed Hayner before?" Kairi asked, "Everyone knows you guys are going out, it's just that we've _never_ seen you guys kiss in public…"

Olette didn't seem to mind this question, for as she answered it without hesitation. "Yes, I've kissed him, in private. We're more discreet in public." She sighed contentedly and continued. "We're really in love, and we're planning on doing, you know…"

Kairi's appearance took on a, well, _shocked_ one. "YOU GUYS ARE GOING TO-"

"Not so loud, Kairi! Isn't your dad downstairs?" Namine said, trying her hardest to lower Kairi's voice.

"He's in the _basement_, watching subbed American movies. But anyway; Olette, you are _thirteen_ years old! You are too young to have sex!" Kairi told her with the 'I am your mother and you will do as I say' face.

"Not now, silly! When we're _older_, like out-of-college older." Olette reassured her with a warm smile and a 'You are not my mother but I appreciate you caring about my well-being' face.

"Ohhhh. Well that clears things up! Olette, your turn!"

Olette gave Kairi a curt nod and faced me. I could feel my stomach do a somersault.

"Xion, here is my question for you!" She took a deep breath and started off, giggling a bit. "Have you *giggles* ever *giggles even harder* had pervy thoughts about a teacher *starts laughing like a maniac*?"

My face turned pale in a heartbeat.

"Olette, what kind of question is _that_?" Namine asked sternly, defending me.

"It's a _funny_ question, of course!" I was surprised to hear Kairi laughing with Olette! It wasn't even that funny!

Olette was wiping tears from her eyes and said, "Ok, ok, I'll stop laughing. But have you?"

The truth was…I had. It was my 4th period World History teacher who had an obsession with fire, Mr. Axel. He was funny and kind and you had to admit he _was_ pretty hot. In fact I think a _lot_ of girls have had pervy thoughts about him! Mine felt different, though. We were eating ice cream at the train station clock tower, the place Roxas and I eat ice cream at. Axel (He'd let us call him Axel) would rant on and on about why the sunset is red, and I'd call him a know-it-all, and then things got pretty pervy by then.

I told everyone about my thoughts, and they weren't exactly surprised.

"Well, duh, Xi-chan!" Kairi said. There it goes with the nicknames. "_Every_ girl in the eighth grade has perverted fantasies about Mr. Axel! That didn't exactly seem like a Truth."

"Yeah, I was expecting you to say Sensei Vexen or some old-head like him." Namine added, laughing.

"What's that supposed to mean, 'I was expecting you'?" I snapped back at her, Namine still laughing.

"Let's just get on with the game," Kairi finally said, "Xion, your turn."

I faced Namine, and I began to think about my question for her.

For a looonnnggg time.

I didn't know much about her, since she had arrived at school this week. But if I didn't know much _about_ her, then I could at least ask her a simple question.

"Ok, Namine…do you like someone at our school?"

The question actually sort of fazed her, because she sat motionless in her bean bag for minutes. She remained frozen even if we waved our hands in her face.

"See what you did, Xion?" Kairi accused, "Poor girl, why would you give her such a terrifying question? You _know_ girls are sensitive on this topic!"

"I didn't know! I thought it'd be a simple question!"

"Would you guys _stop _bickering and help me get Namine back to her normal self?" Olette said vexingly, waving frantically in Namine's face.

"I know. Step aside, Leti-chan," Said Kairi, pushing Olette (Now called Leti-chan, the third victim of Kairi's nicknames) to the side. Kairi took a step back, and…

WHACK! Kairi had slapped Namine right across the face, causing her to wake up and shout out profanities (Kairi: "Wow, Namine, I've _never_ heard you curse before!).

"I was _just_ daydreaming!" Namine told us.

"Really, you were _daydreaming_ for five whole minutes?" Namine received the cold shoulder from Olette, which was quite unusual for her. Typically if she sees someone getting whacked across the face she would be on the victim's defense.

"Yes, Olette, I was daydreaming. I happen to daydream at inappropriate times for a long time." Namine _did_ look like that kind of girl who spaced out on a daily basis. I believed her, so I went to Namine's defense.

"Let's just get back to the game, guys. _The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya_ is waiting for us downstairs-I brought the DVD." I lied. Okay, I _did_ have it; I just left it at home. I want them to just finish this Truth game so we could do something else.

"Omigod, I loved that movie! Let's hurry up, guys!" Olette squealed, rushing back to her bean bag chair. "Now Namine, Xion asked you if you liked anyone,"

"Oh." Namine looked down at her shoes and didn't look up until Kairi said, "What about Roxas? You guys seem pretty close at lunch."

My stomach was doing somersaults again.

"Roxas…" Namine began. "I don't like Roxas in that kind of way, but he's funny and sweet and he's a great soul in general. He _would_ make the perfect boyfriend.

Oh boy.

"Namine, that's basically just saying you like him. Do you?" Kairi asked with a layer of anticipation slathered onto every word.

"If you put it that way, then…yes, you can say I like Roxas romantically." Namine told us, proudly.

My somersaults turned into full-on handsprings.

* * *

**Holy crap! Namine likes Roxas? What is Xion going to do? Read on to find out!**

**I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed my story so far. Arigatou!**

**TheSapphireRose: ****Aww, that's so nice of you to say! I'm glad you like my story!**

**Tinge: You didn't think chapter 2 was boring? Well, I'll be damned. And yes, I'm honored you think this is your fave RokuShi fanfic. You rock!**

**Legend Of zelda2: I'm pleased to hear you like it! I will continue, and I'm rethinking doing 30+ chapters…maybe I'll do at least 20. But thank you for believing in me.**

**The next update will reveal some things on Xion's parents and what's going on with them. See ya next time! (And if you see any spelling or grammatical errors in my writing, feel free to review and discuss them!)**


	4. Dinner Tragedies

**I am SO sorry for the late update! There was this huge storm in my town and Internet connection went down for a while. I'm really sorry for the inconvenience.**

**Do you think this is a lame excuse? Well, it's real.**

**Anyway, thank you for reviewing, readers! All of the feedback means a lot to me, so thanks! I also wanted to clear some stuff up about different continents and countries:**

**Radiant Garden: North America**

**Pride Lands: Africa**

**The Land of Departure: Australia (tee-hee)**

**Deep Jungle: South America**

**Twilight Islands: Japan (Twilight Town is a popular town from Twilight Islands. It's the counterpart of The Land of the Dragons)**

**The Land of the Dragons: Asia**

**Traverse Town: Europe**

**The Bad Lands: Antarctica (a **_**hot**_** Antarctica that is)**

**Destiny Islands: Japan (This is a small counterpart of Japan, where Namine is from)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Haruhi Suzumiya, Battle Royale or First Love by Utada Hikaru.**

* * *

Dinner Tragedies

I was going to have a panic attack right there in the middle of Kairi's room. Why did Namine like _Roxas_, of all people! Riku was a much better fit for her; he was cute and shy and was really kind.

But Roxas has those traits too! Dammit!

Namine and Roxas tend to spend a lot of time together. And Namine _does_ blush almost every time Roxas says anything to her. How does she love someone in only a matter of days, though?

I guess they've been secretly hanging out with each other. Like when Namine was late to the sleepover, she mentioned something about Roxas showing her around town. But what were they _really_ doing, huh?

God, I must be really paranoid. I mean, why do I even care? It's not like I like Roxas or anything. I think I'm just freaking out because I know someone who likes my best friend. I bet Roxas has tons of fangirls, but Namine is the first person I actually know that likes Roxas.

Kairi didn't seem too shocked. Same for Olette. "Nami-chan, a lot of people were already spreading rumors that you two were an item. It's pretty obvious you love Roxas." Olette nodded her head in agreement. I've _never_ heard of these so-called rumors.

"T-they…have?" Namine stammered, her cheeks flushing.

"Yup. I bet those Roxas fangirls right now are plotting ways to sneak into your house while you're sleeping and _kill-_"

"WAHHH! I don't wanna get maimed by angry fangirls! Save me, Kairi!" She hid behind Kairi's bean bag chair and shuddered.

Kairi broke out into a laugh and said, "Namine, I was _kidding_. No one thinks you two are together. It's just that people have been taking notice of you and Roxas together a lot."

"Oh…" Namine went back to her seat with a relieved look on her face.

After that Namine gave Kairi a pretty bad truth (Namine: Do you think Sora likes you? Kairi: Duh, yes!) and we all scrambled downstairs to her living room to watch my inexistent copy of _The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya_. Once they found out that I didn't bring it we just browsed the TV guide looking for rentable movies to watch. Olette and I wanted to see Battle Royale, and Kairi and Namine (reluctantly) agreed.

Kairi and Namine had to shield their eyes with pillows that were on the couch from the gory scenes, yet Olette and I took in every gruesome part displayed on Kairi's 72" television.

"Stupid Mitsuko or however you say it!" Namine shouted while Mitsuko Souma killed yet again another player. I had to agree, I hated Mitsuko too, but she was doing what she had to do to survive.

We were almost to the end of the movie, where Noriko Nakagawa kills Kazuo Kiriyama, when Mr. Igarashi walks into the living room and tells us to get ready for bed. It was only 7:35, but we still had to set up sleeping bags and eat the sushi Mr. Igarashi ordered. Then we would watch another movie and go to bed at 11:30 or 12:00.

We went to 12:00, like we all promised, but we ended up talking until 1:30 in the morning. I couldn't help thinking of Namine and Roxas. I was afraid that if Namine confessed her love to him, she and Roxas would start going out. And then Roxas would become one of those guys who revolve around their girlfriends, and wouldn't hang out with me anymore.

That was selfish of me to think, though. Roxas deserved the best, and if he returns Namine's love, then I'd support their relationship to the fullest.

It still intrigued me how Namine could fall in love in only a week.

* * *

I came home from Kairi's sleepover that Saturday and spent it studying for Exams and taking anti-stress baths to keep me from worrying about Exams. I did fine at school. I had a GPA average of 3.8 and my parents have always encouraged me to do well. Exams, however, were my weakness. I tend to freak out halfway through it and I mess up everything.

Speaking of parents, I heard them talking quietly over tea that Saturday night at the kitchen table. They used hushed voices and I had to actually had to peek my head in through the kitchen.

"When she would we tell her?" My mother whispered.

"As soon as possible, Aya. We can't waste any time beating around the bush." My father replied.

"But, Haruka, what if she gets, you know…"

"We have to tell her ASAP. You know that."

Mom sighed heavily, and I took this as my cue to tiptoe back to my room. I had the most certain feeling that 'her' meant me. But what were they going to tell me?

My ringtone (First Love by Utada Hikaru) interfered with my thoughts as I heard it buzzing in my pants pocket. I fished it out and answered it quickly, only to hear Roxas on the line, asking me to go out to coffee with him the next morning. I agreed, and bid him farewell, hitting the 'End Call' button on my phone. Maybe I could tell him about Namine.

No, that was for her to tell him.

* * *

The temperature had warmed up a bit that Sunday morning, so I decided to wear my black and white striped hoodie with my black cargo pants. Yeah, I'll admit, it looks very emo and skater-girlish, but do I care? No.

I grabbed my skateboard (a checkered black and white one Roxas bought me for my 13th birthday), said my usual 'Ohayou' to my parents, who were cuddled up by the TV watching their favorite morning soap opera, and headed out the door. I placed my skateboard on the ground, and cautiously, yet quickly, jumped aboard, placing my foot on the ground to maneuver the skateboard.

It was 10:24, and I was supposed to meet Roxas at 10:30. It would take me five minutes to skate from my home to the Sunrise Café, so I would be on time. Wipee.

I almost hit a few pedestrians, some I actually hit, saying 'Moushiwake arimasen' occasionally. By the time I stopped my board in front of the café it was 10:40. Then I remembered being lectured for ten minutes by an old lady I hit. Talk about bad luck.

I stepped inside, and instantaneously I was flagged down by Roxas, who claimed a spot near the back of the café. My board under my shoulder, I walked towards the table and took a seat across the Roxas, placing my board under my chair.

"It was about time." Roxas exclaimed. "I was almost about to leave. The waitress even came over to my table a gazillion times trying to get me to order."

"Have you ever heard of _texting_? It's an easy way to know where people are, Roxas." I snapped back, giving him the pouty look.

He rolled his eyes and continued. "Anyway, what're doing for Lockhart Day tomorrow? I heard that sophomore Tifa was going to give a speech in the morning."

Lockhart day was a day to celebrate the making of Twilight Town, created by a guy from Radiant Garden named Ebert Lockhart. School and work were always canceled on Lockhart day, no matter how important that school or work day may be.

Early in the morning, around 7:00, all the people of Twilight Town gather at the Sun Shrine, the highest point in the town. We congregate at Ebert Lockhart's grave, listening to speeches by the Lockhart family and singing songs. At 8:00 we pig out on breakfast. I generally got the tamagoyaki and miso soup, and sometimes if I'm still hungry I'd share okayu with my mother. At 9:30 we sing a traditional song called 'Dearly Beloved' and we'd all go home.

Families, after doing the main events of Lockhart day, would celebrate in their own kind of way. At night, restaurants had a special where everything on the menu was 25% percent off. Grocery items were 10% off, and nightclubs allowed an extra ten people to the occupancy number. Things were better on Lockhart day, and that's why it was my favorite holiday.

"I don't know _what_ I'm doing. My parents have been awfully quiet this weekend." I told Roxas. I leaned over towards Roxas, and I was about to whisper what my parents had said until the waitress in a lacy bunny outfit appeared from nowhere.

"May I take your order _now_?" She asked, giving Roxas an austere look, making me giggle a bit. She had brown hair that met her shoulders and a yellow ribbon tied across her hair. Her bunny suit was pitch-black, with white bunny ears, and I couldn't help but wonder if she was…

"Excuse me, ma'am, but…are you Haruhi Suzumiya by chance?" I felt so stupid asking something like this. Of course she wasn't Haruhi Suzumiya! That was an _anime_ character.

"Actually, I am." She said haughtily.

"…"

She and Roxas broke out into a boisterous laugh, loud enough for the whole café to hear. Finally Haruhi Suzumiya began to speak. "Of course not! My manager just wanted me to cosplay as her to attract more custo-" She covered her mouth with her hands and gasped. "Oops! I wasn't supposed to say that! Anyway, may I take your order?"

I ordered a hot chai with cream and Roxas ordered a plain cup of coffee and a bagel. The cosplayer scrawled our orders down and ran back to the kitchen. By then I dropped all thoughts of my parents and what they were hiding from me. I supposed I could tell him the next day, at the shrine.

Something else was planned that day.

* * *

"I never knew my great-grandfather," Tifa exclaimed, standing in front of Ebert Lockhart's grave, "But from stories passed on by my parents and grandparents, he seemed like a liberal, fearless achiever. He didn't deserve to pass on at only 54 years old, but he was ready anyway. He was ready for any challenge the world brought him. And that's why we are gathered here today. Rest in peace, Great Grandpa." She turned around towards the grave, bent down, and placed a bundle of flowers on the headstone that read 'Ebert Lockhart, our dearly beloved'. She turned back around towards the crowd at the shrine, and bowed.

There was an unruly applause at the end of Tifa's extremely short speech. She walked back towards the crowd, next to a guy with blonde spikey hair, similar to Roxas'. Mr. Igarashi took his place in front of the grave and announced that breakfast would be served.

Lockhart day was off to its usual start; an hour of tears, songs and speeches. At breakfast, _everyone_ is pulled out of their dejected and depressed dispositions and a more exultant atmosphere is created. Everyone is allowed to eat to their heart's content.

The buffet table was crammed with all sorts of yummy breakfast foods; anpans and nori, taukan and tsukemono, aji and tamagoyaki, natto and miso soup, okayu and just plain rice. There was also green tea, milk, orange juice and a lot of café beverages. I stuffed my plate with tamagoyaki and okayu, and I poured myself of bowl of miso. I also snagged the last cup of hot chocolate, since the weather had gone down drastically that day, again.

Once I found a decent picnic table to sit at (with no gum plastered onto the surface of it), I flagged down Kairi, who was with Olette and…Namine. Over the past few days I've been loathing to see her again.

My parents were eating on the ground, yards away from me. When were they going to tell me this secret? Will they ever?

Me, Kairi and the gang (That's what Namine started calling us. Ugh.) talked about Exams and school. Kairi mentioned a few things about Roxas to Namine, which I didn't feel like hearing. I would support their relationship if they were a couple, I just didn't want to hear 'Namine and Roxas this, Namine and Roxas that' every ten seconds.

I finished my first helping in a heartbeat and walked back to the buffet table for more. Mom and Dad sat a few feet away from the table, and when I came over they abruptly stopped talking. Weird.

At 9:30 we all song the closing song and we all parted ways. The car ride back home was still and silent. The drive from the shrine to our house was roughly ten minutes, so the whole ride felt awkward.

Finally, my father, the designated driver, sighed deeply and said, "Xion, we have some matters we'd like to discuss with you over dinner. We would like to take you out to dinner tonight at Asako's."

In the backseat of the car I let out a shrill squeal (Which I never do) and clapped my hands repetitively. Asako's was my favorite dinner restaurant; they had the _best_ sashimi in all of Twilight Town. You never know, maybe the thing they're going to tell me is good!

* * *

"Itadakimasu." Mom, Dad and I said in unison, our heads bowed. We perked our heads back up and eyed the feast before us. I, of course, ordered sashimi, Dad ordered soba, and Mom ordered the kare raisu. Dad _also_ ordered a group meal of yakizakana, grilled fish. Dad's appetite stretched on for _miles_, I tell you.

We all dug in. I finished my sashimi in a flash, and I picked at the yakizakana, which I don't like as much as sashimi. Mom and Dad had the same glum faces as they stuffed themselves. Why were they so sad? If they took me out to Asako's, what they were going to tell me _had_ to be good.

After Mom finished her spicy curry she looked me straight in the eye, the kind of look that could send even an army general off guard.

Speaking of the army…

"Xion, your father and I have trying to keep this from you for a while but…" Mom couldn't finish what she was saying. A tear rolled down her cheek as she placed her chopsticks beside her plate.

Dad finished her sentence. "I'm being sent off again, this Sunday." He was being sent off? Right before _Christmas_? No…

Dad was a part of this exclusive group, a part of the Twilight Army called the Dragon Force. It wasn't just a group full of inexperienced army officers. They used their intellect and wits to take down the biggest threats of the world, and no one knew who they were, only Dragon Force families and the government.

This is the sixth time he was sent off. This was the first time he was sent off for Christmas and New Year's. He'd be gone until May, a month before my eighth graduation. If he dies, then...

No, Dad would _never_ die! He never got severely injured the other five times, so I was sure he wouldn't die. Just the thought of him dying made me sad. That's why I needed to spend every minute with Dad as possible, so I wouldn't be sad.

I still was down from the news. The yakizakana didn't make it any better.

* * *

**Oh no! Xion's dad is going to be sent off again! Next chapter will have the send-off and some more Namine/Roxas stuff…**

**Once again, arigatou! I love reviews!**

**Legend Of zelda2: Lol, usually I **_**want**_** Namine to burn in hell in some fanfics, even though I personally like her. Xion and Roxas' relationship is gonna take a slight downfall soon, don't you worry! Everything is coming gradually.**

**Tinge: Everyone hates Namine in this fanfic for some reason! I **_**sort of**_** like her, but not as much as Xion.**

**OmegaStarShooter14: Xehanort as a teacher…okay, this **_**isn't**_** the weird, old Xehanort from BBS, this is the Xehanort that overtook Terra's body, the one who is actually super-hot. In this story you **_**will**_** meet Terra, actually. And I had a lot of fun writing the pervy Axel thoughts-it was my fave part of the story!**

**Next chapter will come soon! And Happy Independence Day, woohoo!**


	5. Spineless

**Hey readers! Another chapter is up, yay! Did you have a good Independence Day? (For my non-American readers, did you have a good, er, Wednesday?) **

**Just to point out, there is NO Namine bashing! I really like Namine as a character, and if my writing makes it seem like Namine is an antagonist, tell me about it through a PM or review. I repeat, there is NO NAMINE BASHING! NONE!**

**By the way this is going to be a long chapter, I think. I'll try to make it 3,000 words.**

* * *

Spineless

I tried my hardest not to cry myself to sleep-that would be _way_ too cheesy. My father wouldn't die, he never did.

Death always scared me. I was really into philosophy, Roxas and I both were. If you die, then what would happen? Would you live in darkness, or become a ghost? I wasn't very religious, but time to time I would always wonder that if you die you'd go to Heaven, Hell, or a purgatory.

Dad was interested in philosophy too. In fact, _he _was the one who introduced it to Roxas and I. He told us about old philosophers and his favorite quotes. I've always loved one that Roxas and I stumbled across on the internet:

_When we discover that the truth is already in us, we are all at once our original selves._

Philosophy and religion aside, I was still afraid that Dad would die, and he'd leave Mom and me alone. Sure, we'd get inheritance money, but that's not the point. It wouldn't be the same; Mom didn't get philosophy, so who would talk to me about ancient philosophers? And who would cook kare raisu every Wednesday night? Mom couldn't, she was bad at making curry rice.

Most importantly, who would be there to comfort me after a tiring and stressful day of school? Once again, Mom wouldn't be able to because she would be at her day job until 7:30!

Thinking about death made me sad. That night I just had to let it out.

* * *

The first day of Exams probably made me more stressed then I've ever been. Kairi picked me up to go to school, as usual, yet the walk to school was complete silence.

For Exams you needed to be at school 30 minutes earlier than usual, at 7:30. You skipped homeroom and went straight to your desired 2nd period classroom to take your first Exam. It's about an hour long, and if there is still a student in class who is taking their Exam after time goes out, an extra ten minutes would be added.

After the first Exam you take a 30 minute break before your second Exam at your 3rd period class, which is, again, an hour long. Then you get an extended lunch (An hour and 30 minutes! Woohoo!), and afterwards you take your third and last Exam at your 4th period class. What comes after that…HOME!

Clubs meetings and any other stuff planned after school is canceled, so Kairi would come straight home afterschool. I wasn't planning on walking with her, though. Exams always made me stressed so I planned on just going straight home to take a bath.

I didn't feel like walking with Roxas, either. He was probably off somewhere doing something with Namine. Now that I mention it, I never got a chance to talk to him on Lockhart Day. Oh well, I already knew the news, so there's no point in talking to Roxas, anyway.

Roxas _does_ seem a bit withdrawn. Apparently, I overheard from Riku that Roxas and Namine went to an amusement park outside of Twilight Town. Riku was there with his little sister and father, and he saw them get in line for a ferris wheel.

Oh God, a _ferris_ wheel? Why a ferris wheel of all things? I've read stories and watched cheesy sitcoms about couples falling in love and sharing their first kiss in ferris wheels. What if Namine and Roxas…

Okay, that would _never_ happen. I just couldn't imagine it. I never did mind if Roxas hung out with other girls, I didn't even mind if he _flirted _with them (He's never flirted with me before). But ever since Namine came, I just started to worry more about what would happen. I never cared about Roxas' love life. Now I do, which probably means…

I like Roxas?

I thought about everything in the bathtub that afternoon. Did I really _love_ Roxas? No, that'd be impossible. It's probably because I'm jealous.

A voice in my head told me something else. _Xion, you like Roxas more than a friend. I know it._

"But I've never felt this way until now!"

_You've always loved him, Xion, from the day you met him. You've always admired him. You've cared about him and he surely cares about you._

"You're right…the day we met in nursery school. He's always been there for me." I sighed. "But what if I confess and he says he loves Namine?"

_You've got to take the bold move. Tell him you love him._

"I'm not bold. I'm weak. I cried myself to sleep last night, how do you expect me to be strong?" I shouted in the tub. Oh no, I was going too far with the talking-to-myself thing.

But that voice in my mind was right. I _did _love Roxas; I loved him from the bottom of my heart. I was just too scared to confess.

I drained out all of the water from the bathtub and dried myself off, changing into my everyday clothes. The only thing the bath did was add a heap of stress (I don't think I did well in Math, or World History or Language Arts).

As I stepped out the bathroom, I sucked in the aroma of dough and soy sauce from the homemade noodles Dad was making. I wanted to give my Dad a visit, and maybe help with dinner. Like I said, I wanted to spend as much time as I could with Dad, or else…I'm not going to talk about that.

"It smells good, Dad." I chirped, standing beside my father who was stirring his specialty sauce in a small bowl.

"Yup, I wanted to make your Mom's favorite tonight, seafood udon. You can help you like." Dad said while rapidly mixing the sauce.

I stir-fried the seafood, shrimps and scallops, while Dad created the udon and made the sauce. **(A/N: I don't know how to make udon in real life, so I'll just do a fast-forward)**

At about 4:45 we finished making the udon and served it with the leftover yakizakana from the restaurant. We saved a bowl for Mom in the refrigerator and we ate happily. I almost forgot the fact that Dad was being sent off in the first place, until he brought the whole thing up after we finished eating.

"Are you going to miss me while I'm gone?" He asked me with a hint of dejection in his voice.

I laid my chopsticks beside my empty bowl and sighed. "Yes. It'll be the first Christmas without you."

I was surprised to see Dad with a smile on his face when he responded. "It's not going to be that bad, I'm sure. I have you and Mom's presents somewhere. We'll exchange gifts on Saturday."

I returned Dad's smile, trying to be as strong as possible. It was a mystery how he could be so optimistic about the whole thing. He _did_ survive five other times, and he seemed sure he could survive this time.

* * *

I called Kairi that night about Roxas and what I thought about him. She wasn't very stunned. She told me we always made a good couple, and she secretly wondered when we would hook up. That comment made me blush more than ever.

She also told me she'd figure out a good time where I could confess my feelings. She promised me she'd figure out by the next day.

She was right, as usual.

"Riku called me last night, and he told me he was throwing a party Friday night, so if I could get Roxas to come, which he probably would, you could confess your feelings there!" Kairi squealed at lunch. We wanted to sit at a different table so we could talk about my feelings.

"No. Never in _hell_ will you drag me to a party. You know I hate parties." That was true. I went to one at the beginning of the year and everyone, except me, was drunk.

"Lighten up, Xi-chan! Parties are fun, and you've never been to one of _Riku's_ parties before."

"What's so great about his parties?"

Kairi gave me a flabbergasted look, dropping her chopsticks in mid-air. "You _cannot_ say that. He has an _awesome_ house on the rich side of Twilight Town, owns air hockey and foosball tables, and has a large balcony where you could see almost all of Twilight Town. It's the perfect place to discuss your feelings!"

I rolled my eyes and took a bite of my onigiri. "Kairi, there would be too many people there in the first place to confess. I don't want the whole eighth grade to know how I feel, or have an angry mob of fangirls outside my front door…"

Kairi giggled and said, "That's why you'll declare your love on the _balcony_ I was talking about. No one could hear you."

She was right; that would be a good spot. I was reading this book (NOT Romeo and Juliet) where a girl confesses her love on a balcony to her best friend, but when he turns her down she commits suicide and jumps off the balcony.

_Maybe _the balcony thing would be a bit overrated, but I could always give it a shot. "Fine. And if he accepts my love then you owe me 100 munny."

"Yay!" Kairi shouted, performing a victory air punch and a caramelldansen. I don't think she heard me say the part about owing me 100 munny.

* * *

"Have a fun and safe winter break, everyone!" Principal Marluxia stated through the intercom, in unison with the last bell. Everyone rushed out their final period class and headed out the door. I was dreading that day for a while; I was going to confess my love to Roxas. I was more than scared-I was petrified. This was my first time falling in love, and I didn't know exactly what to do!

Kairi came to my house afterschool, where she prepared me for the big moment. She told me while I addressed Roxas, I needed to take a big breath and look him straight in the eye.

"When you do this _don't _try to look frightening," She told me, sitting on the edge of my bed. "You need to take the stern approach, like you're taking the initiative. Practice with me now."

I faced Kairi, took a deep breath, like she said, and gave her the firm look.

"That's okay for now. Maybe try and loosen up a bit." Everyone's a critic nowadays, huh?

She told me what to say and how to act, and soon we practiced it out. She told me I was top-notch and that I won't be turned down for sure. I hope I wasn't.

Then Kairi started rummaging through my closet. After five minutes of searching she came out empty-handed. "Do you wear _anything_ other than black, blue, or purple?"

I shrugged.

Kairi shook her head in a disapproving manner and said, "Xi-chan, we've gotta get you new clothes. If you're going to a party you need to look flashy!"

Before I could say anything else Kairi pulled me by my wrist and told me, "You're paying me back."

* * *

I cringed as I looked through the mirror at that new boutique at Sunnybrook Mall. Kairi had been searching _two_ hours_, two full hours_ she and I could never get back, at a clothing store looking for a 'flashy' outfit for the party.

She picked out a floral patterned skirt with black leggings, a scarlet shirt draped over one shoulder, and matching scarlet ballet flats. I thought I would puke, but I didn't want to say 'no' again for the tenth consecutive time. We've spent two hours there looking for the right outfit, and I didn't want to waste an extra hour browsing outfits. And honestly, this one looked better than the other ones she made me try.

"And for the final touch!" Kairi fastened a crimson bow in my raven-colored hair, and she stepped back to admire it. I really liked it too, even if I disliked the rest of the outfit. We went to the checkout counter to pay for it, and while we walked out with our purchase the lady behind the counter shouted, "Have a good evening, Kairi and her friend!"

"She knows you?" I asked Kairi once we were out of earshot.

"Yup. Ever since the shop opened I've been there 24/7." Kairi replied while giving me a goofy smile.

We got out of school at 2:00, and Kairi helped me prepare for the confession for an hour. It took us thirty minutes to get to Sunnybrook Mall by bus, and when were at the boutique for two hours. That meant it was 5:30, and Kairi told me the party started around 7:00, so we used our spare time to peruse the mall.

We left at 6:30, and by then my stomach felt queasy, like at Kairi's sleepover where Namine was telling us about whom she liked. We left from the mall straight to Riku's house, and while we were walking up the steps on his front porch I remembered that quote, the one about truth.

Kairi told my father I was sleeping over at her house, and sure enough, he let me. I never really lied, mainly because I'm not good at it. But what if he finds out I went to a _party_? I'll be screwed for sure.

Kairi told me not to worry. The only boy-girl party I went to was the one at the beginning of eighth grade, like I said before, but the only reason I attended was that I was staying over at the host's house. Mom and Dad were going out of town for vacation, so they made me stay at their friend's house, who had a son. _Those_ parents were going out for dinner and music, so the son threw a party which I was _forced_ to attend. The parents came home at two in the morning and didn't know he threw a party, since he and I cleaned up _very_ well after it.

This is a party I could get caught for, not like the other one which my parents would have no clue about. Kairi says I should come out of my comfort zone a little more often, and this party is my first step.

Kairi rang the doorbell at around 7:19, and we were greeted by Riku, who ushered us in. There were only about twenty people there, not including Roxas, and Riku was expecting the whole eighth grade to show up.

I ended up having a good conversation with Riku, who told me he was serving beer and sake for people who were willing to drink it. He told me he didn't drink, though, which took me off guard. Riku looked like that kind of party person who could chug a beer in a minute.

We talked about Exams and life, and I asked him about his dating service fun. This one guy asked him a date through the site and by then Riku had pretty much abandoned his account for good.

At 7:45 Roxas came with Sora, Demyx, a ninth grader I met from last year's Lockhart Day, and a guy who looked a lot like Roxas. Roxas had a guitar case strung over his shoulder, along with Demyx and the Roxas look-alike, while Sora was carrying a heap of equipment, which Demyx was helping him with. I abruptly ended my conversation with Riku to help them, and probably ask who the look-alike was.

Roxas was forming a band, he told me once, and they already had three members; him on vocals and guitar, Demyx on bass, and Sora on the drums. I took it that the look-alike was the new member.

I helped get Sora's drums inside and upstairs to the spacey living room. Riku must've pushed the couches and TV into a nearby room, because the room was bare except for the fireplace and the bookshelves on the walls.

Once they got set up I asked Roxas about the band. Apparently, they found the last member, and Riku offered them munny to play their first gig at his party.

"Who's the last member then?" I asked him quizzically

"My half-brother, Ventus. He moved in with us yesterday and he's going to attend school with us after break." He told me like it was the most normal thing in the world.

A half-brother? Roxas had a brother?

"Why didn't you ever _tell_ me you had a brother?" I punched him in the arm and looked him straight in the eye, glowering knives at him.

He rubbed the spot where I punched him and rolled his eyes. "I just found out too! If I had a brother I would've told you right away. Apparently he was the son of my mom's first husband, but they divorced and he took Ven with him. Later my mom had me and she married my dad. Ven's been living with his father for a while, but he became abusive off of drugs and alcohol and almost killed Ven.

"Right now he's in jail, and mom is in full custody of him. So he's staying with us for a long time."

I was astonished. Poor kid, he must've been through a lot.

"If your mom had you nine or ten months after Ventus and his dad moved away, how come he's in the same grade as us?"

Roxas, again, rolled his eyes. "You ask a lot of questions, don't you?"

"Just answer the question!"

I thought I was going to slap the living hell out of Roxas when he rolled his eyes _again_. "Ven has some, um, _academic_ problems he deals with. He has dyslexia and ADHD, and he got held back a year in second grade."

Dammit, he made me feel guilty! "Oh, I didn't mean to be so rude about it. Sorry."

"No prob. It's not a big deal." He had one of his goofy and reassuring smiles plastered on his face which makes me forget every trace of guilt I possessed.

I soon found myself embracing him, my body acting before my mind could react. I could tell he was stupefied, because it took him awhile to wrap his arms around me.

"I never got the chance to talk to you about my father." I whispered into his chest, listening to his heart beat rhythmically. I looked up at his face to see a puzzled expression.

"Did something happen to him?"

"No…well, you can say that, yes." I momentarily remembered confessing, and the balcony, and everything Kairi had told me to do.

I was released from the embrace and I signaled Roxas towards what would be the balcony (It was a pretty big house-it took me a while to find it). I closed the doors behind us, took a deep breath, and told Roxas everything about my father.

The Dragon Force was a confidential topic; we weren't allowed to tell anyone. But I should be able to tell the one I love about it, right? To other people, just to keep the façade, we say that our father is a regular army officer. We are allowed to discuss the Dragon Force between Dragon Force families, but they have to keep it classified too.

After telling Roxas I pleaded for him not to tell anyone. Roxas was better at keeping promises than anyone I knew, so I trusted him with all my heart.

I decided I wouldn't confess to Roxas. After what I told him it seemed like the atmosphere was jam-packed with despondency and sorrow. I still had fun (A lot of people commented on my 'flashy' outfit, which I was probably never going to wear for the rest of my life), but that still didn't change anything.

Funny thing was, I didn't see Namine at the party.

* * *

**Okay, this isn't my **_**best**_** chapter, but I had to rush to get it done. It's pretty long like I said.**

**Xion realizes her feelings! Yay! Does Roxas love her back or not? The next chapter will be long too, plus VERY sad…**

**I'm not going to respond to reviews today because my Mom is telling me to get off the computer, so I guess I'll update later?**


	6. Engulfed

**HELLO READERS! Welcome to yet another of chapter of Turning Tides! This chapter is **_**very**_** special, because it is…THE CHRISTMAS CHAPTER! Get ready!**

**Beware of a sexual scene! Not between Xion and Roxas or Roxas and Namine, but with other people…hehehe…**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any Studio Ghibli movies or anything except for the Kaji restaurant.**

* * *

Engulfed

I remembered waking up that Saturday sprawled on a vinyl couch. I couldn't remember a thing, plus my head hurt terribly. I looked at a nearby clock, reading 3:54.

And Roxas was slouched on the other end of the couch with me, fast asleep.

I jumped up from the couch and covered my mouth with my hands, trying my hardest to suppress a scream. Had I done what I thought I did? Oh no…

I soon realize none of my clothes were discarded, and I sighed in relief. What I also realized is that almost all of the eighth grade were lying on the ground, trying to steady themselves, or making out with someone else, which really disgusted me.

I searched for Kairi, doing my best not stepping on the people that were sleeping like a babies. I walked into the living room, where there were even more people. I also found the band's equipment lying where they were the night before, and memories soon started flooding my mind.

I told Roxas about my father, and afterwards he and his band played their first song, 'Rewrite' by Asian Kung-Fu Generation. It amazed me how even if Ventus had come into town the day before, he became a part of the band _and_ played a song with them. I guess all of them had learned how to play the song beforehand and they decided they should all play it as their first song.

I remember Namine coming in at 8:30, and she flirted with Roxas the whole time (I had to shield my eyes!). But what the party really _was _for was just having fun and forgetting all of my problems, including my competition with Namine and Dad leaving. I needed a break.

Being the thoughtful person I am, I put away Sora's drum set in its (large) case, along with Roxas', Ven's and Demyx's. I continued my search for Kairi, almost tripping in a puddle of vomit.

I took a peek in Riku's room, only to find three people fast asleep. As soon as I was about to leave I heard a noticeable moan coming from Riku's room. I popped my head back in, occupied with the same three people. Believing it was my imagination, I left the room again, until I heard the _same_ moan, but louder.

It wasn't just my imagination, something was happening. I scrutinized every part of the room, examining under the bed and behind the bureau. I searched so hard there was only one place left to look; the closet.

I put my ear close to the closet door, overhearing moans and groans and fumbling. I had to actually lean against the door to hear a familiar voice whisper out a name…

By that time I swung the door open to see Sora and Kairi…making out? And Kairi and Sora were both _topless?_

My jaw hit the floor as I stared at the couple, them staring back at me with the same horrified expression. It felt pretty awkward walking in on your best friend going far with a guy who sat at your lunch table. More than awkward, actually; you're pretty much tongue-tied.

To kill the tension I whispered a discreet, "I'll leave you two alone," and was prepared to close the door until Kairi told me it was okay to stay.

Kairi wanted a _threesome_! Ewwwwwww!

Instead of staying I planned on getting out. Actually I planned on getting out of the _house_ in general. But it was pretty unnatural to knock on your door at four in the morning, having to explain that you were out all night partying with your peers. I decided to just wait until eight or nine o'clock so I could go home.

I walked out of the room, only to be tapped on the shoulder by Kairi, who was wearing her shirt. She told me she wanted to talk to me.

We sat on the same vinyl couch Riku had pushed into the guest room to make more space in the living room. Kairi seemed a bit ashamed at what she had done, because the whole time she talked she had her head bowed, looking down at her bare feet.

She told me that she felt humiliated for almost doing the dirty deed with Sora. Sora had downed two whole beers, she said, and he was more flirtatious with Kairi. Then they started making out and it went on for quite a while. If I didn't stop her she may have lost her virginity, and even worse, got pregnant.

Suddenly, right there on the couch, she hugged me, saying how grateful she was to have me as her friend. I told her I was grateful too.

But are they an item now? Eh, perhaps.

* * *

"Thank you for having her over, Kairi. My husband told me Xion was staying at your house." Mom said, greeting Kairi and I at the door. She then faced me. "And what's with the outfit change?"

"Kairi and I went to the mall to get new clothes! And, uh…" Oh god, I was going to tell another lie.

"Actually, I didn't get anything for myself. I was giving Xi-chan a little makeover, so I bought her everything she needed. Her regular clothes are in her." Kairi told my mother, holding up the shopping bag containing my clothes and Converse.

"That's very nice of you, Kairi. Xion, make sure you pay her back."

"Don't worry, Koizumi-san, I already told Xion. The whole outfit cost 2,000 munny." Kairi gave Mom one of her childish grins.

"Goodness, that's quite a lot. I hope Xion can pay up for that…" Mom chuckled softly while ruffling my hair.

"Okay then. Ja ne!" Kairi walked off, waving.

Mom and I waved back and we headed inside. I'm glad she didn't point out that I didn't bring anything with me, except for my cell phone and keys that I placed in the shopping bag.

It was 8:30; Dad was sleeping his life away, Mom was doing laundry, and I would be sleeping my life away too, if I didn't go to a party. Once I entered my room I stripped my clothing and stuffed it in my dresser (I'm probably not going to wear it. Ever again.). I had a bathroom in my room, with a small tub/shower, a porcelain toilet, and a sink containing skin and hair care products, soaps and my toothbrush and toothpaste. I stepped into the shower, turning on the hot water. I loved the feel of the water slapping my back, especially when it's scalding hot. It somehow rids of all pain put on my back temporarily. I don't hesitate when the water dampens my hair, mainly because I bet there was dried up vomit stuck onto my scalp. I lathered it with shampoo and rubbed intensely, eliminating all evidence of barf.

After drying myself off I put on deodorant and gazed at my appearance through the mirror above the sink. When I opened my mouth, I could smell the odor of…beer?

No wonder my head hurt when I woke up on that couch; I was drunk! How did I even _drink_ a single beer? I thought I swore off alcohol.

To clear up the proof I brushed my teeth for five minutes, using a combination of peppermint and watermelon-flavored toothpaste. Not only did my breath smell better, my teeth look whiter than usual.

I choose a simple blue long-sleeved top with black skinny jeans, no make-up, and my favorite Converse. It was comfier than the glitzy outfit Kairi made me wear; it made me feel like I was home.

I checked in on Dad, who was still snoring his butt off. I wasn't so surprised; I don't think anyone who knew my family would be, either. He'd wake up around ten o'clock.

Mom was doing the laundry in the basement like I said, folding clothes and putting them in the washer or dryer. She had a monotonous schedule the days she was off from work (Because of Christmas and New Year's she's off for three weeks), first starting with doing laundry and making breakfast.

To be polite I helped her fold clothes and towels, talking about casual things. Mom was different from most moms; she was the happy-go-lucky kind of person who always hoped for the best. She didn't enforce too many rules, but she kept bans and probations, like for examples, going to teenage parties. It was easy to talk to her, and I'm surprised I haven't told her I liked Roxas. I always share this type of stuff with her.

"Oka-san," I addressed her, folding a towel. She stopped folding her own pair of pants and faced me.

"Yes?"

"Do you like Roxas? Like, do you think he's a good friend?"

Mom continued folding the same pair of pants while speaking. "Of course. He's very nice, and it seems he treats you well. I can say I like Roxas."

"I think I like him more than a friend, Mom."

Mom had a large grin plastered on her face. "I knew it, Xion. You've liked Roxas for a long time, haven't you?"

A blush grew on my face as I looked at her. "Yes, maybe I have! Don't tease me!" She started laughing, and I joined in with her.

"Look, sweetie; if you want to get the guy you love you need to take a-"

"Yeah, Kairi told me already, yada yada." I rolled my eyes and smiled.

"She did? That was nice of her."

We were done with laundry when she told me that cousin Aqua would stay with us for New Year's and Christmas. Mom told her the news with Dad and the Dragon Force so she's going to celebrate our early Christmas with us.

Aqua used to live and go to school in Twilight Town. Her parents were murdered when she was 20, but since she wasn't a minor anymore **(A/N: In Japan the minor age is 19 and under)** she was allowed to live on her own. She was compensated with a large inheritance from both parents, who were pretty rich, and she moved to The Land of Departure for unknown reasons. Now she was 23 and she worked a supposedly well-paying job where she lived.

She would be coming at noon, so we had to prepare for her arrival. I didn't have a present for her, so Mom let me use her present she planned on mailing to her, a pair of ice skates.

We never ate breakfast on Christmas, because we always had a big meal ahead of us. I woke up Dad, and together we set up our six-foot tall Christmas tree. Christmas was really just a commercial holiday; everyone just celebrates it because everyone in the West celebrates it. And like I said before, my family isn't a very religious family, even though we _are_ somewhat Buddhists.

While Mom was making the dinner for the night, Dad and I created a banner made of spare paper that read 'Welcome Back!' using all the glitter and markers we could use. By the time we hung it up the doorbell had rang.

Dad and I answered it, and we opened the door to see an excited Aqua, luggage in hand. "HI FAMILY!" She shouted enthusiastically, dropping her suitcases on the porch and lunging at us.

And boy, was she strong. She managed to pin both us to the ground, hugging us and showering us in kisses. Mom had come into the living room to see what the commotion was, and Aqua tackled her too.

It was a laughing matter for all of us though. We hadn't seen Aqua ever since her parent's funeral and we _are _passionate about family.

We helped get her luggage inside and we set up the guest room for her, which was probably the dullest room you could possibly think of. It had white walls, a white carpet, a white queen sized bed, a cream-colored bureau, yada yada. After a while Dad went to go help Mom with the food, leaving only Aqua and I in the room.

I put the spare sheets on the bed while she was unpacking her suitcase, placing clothes in the dresser and cosmetics and beauty supplies on the top of the bureau. I saw her take out a picture frame of a guy with black shaggy hair and filthy clothes. Don't tell me Aqua fell in love with a hobo!

She stared at the photo for a while, then held it to her chest while whispering, "I'll find you, I promise." She then placed it directly next to a perfume on the bureau.

"Who was that?" I asked her, sending her out of her trance.

"Someone special." She told me, facing the wall and eyeing the photo. "Anyway, what's your mom making for dinner?"

We soon started talking about our lives and how I was doing in school. I heard that Aqua didn't go to university, yet Mom and Dad didn't explain much after that. It was a sensitive topic, they said.

I guess I couldn't ask her, then.

* * *

"Here you go, Ojisan." Aqua handed Dad her present, a long, rectangular one with scribbled kanji on the front, reading '_With love, Aqua'_. He slashed at the wrapping with his fingernails, an impatient and zealous look on his face. Dad loved presents, especially from family. Christmas (and Valentine's Day, because he loves the chocolate Mom gives him) was his favorite holiday, even if it was commercial.

He tore off the wrapping to reveal a long, wooden oblong block. Aqua mouthed the word, _Open it_, and when Dad did as said, he, Mom and I all gasped.

It was a nihonto, a Japanese sword. This one was a katana, slightly curved and clad in a leather case. Dad held it in his hands like if it was a gift from Kingdom Hearts, stroking the case delicately. He slid it off, and the blade was revealed, made of authentic tamahagane, Aqua pointed out.

"It was a sword passed on for generations in the Amagawa family. Father presented it to me on my tenth birthday, and I've been using it ever since." Aqua stated. "If you'd like I could show you a few moves I've learned."

Before Dad could reply Mom butted in. "I think Uncle Haruka would pass. We don't want any decapitated heads, do we?"

"Yeah, your Aunt is right. But maybe I could use this on my journey!" Dad shouted gleefully, pointing the katana to the ceiling. "Can I behead a few _bad _guys, Aya?"

Mom ignored this question and turned to me. "Xion, would you like to give your father your present now?"

My parents and I buy presents in November, so we don't have to deal with crazed last-minute Christmas shoppers. Apparently when I was four, my parents bought my presents on the 22nd of December, and a shopper got into a scuffle with Dad for bumping in to him. They both got kicked out, and Mom had to plead the mall security to let him back inside. She got kicked out too eventually, and I only got a talking geisha doll **(A/N: A geisha is a hostess that entertains men by singing, dancing and conversing)**, which broke the next day after I pressed the 'Try Me!' button for the 49th time.

I nodded in response to Mom, and scurried down the hall to my room, where my present for Dad was hidden so well not even Kairi, who had searched my closet top-to-bottom the day before, couldn't have found it. I went back to the living room, my mahogany-colored gift in hand. I sat down in-between Aqua and Mom and gave him the present, a cube-shaped box the size of a 42 inch TV set.

Dad gave it a rough shake, and soon enough he had stripped the gift of its wrapping to a reveal a shoebox. He gingerly opened it, and he let out a soft gasp.

I had bought him a digital picture frame. I actually saved up 2,750 munny just to buy it, and once I did it took me an extra four hours to program all of our family photos on it.

"Pumpkin, this is a picture frame."

"Huh?" I was awakened from my daydream to see Dad fumbling around with the frame, yanking the cord in confusion. I couldn't help but facepalm.

"It's just a plain picture frame. And why is there a cord attached to it?" Dad gave the cord a hard tug.

"No, Haruka, it's a _digital_ picture frame. Xion will show you how you turn it on." Mom said with a smirk. Aqua nodded.

I pulled the frame out of his hands and found a nearby outlet adjacent to a coffee table. I plugged in the cord, set the frame on the table, and clicked the power button. My family watched in awe as the picture frame began to display photos.

"Wow…" Dad murmured, "How much did this cost?"

"Not telling. It's rude to ask people about the price of the gift that they gave them, you know that Daddy." I gave him a wag of my finger, making him chortle a bit.

"Ah, so you're picking up your mother's traits? I thought so."

I ignored this topic and turned to Mom. "Are you going to give Dad your gift?"

Mom shook her head. "No. That was taken care of yesterday when you left." Her cheeks turned a bright pink and she looked down at her feet. I already knew what it was.

Besides, after the Kairi and Sora incident my mind has gotten a bit more sexual-oriented.

_It was December 23__rd__, a day of celebration for the old Emperor of Twilight Islands. To the Koizumi and Amagawa families, it was a day of anxiety and dread._

_Aya Koizumi, Xion Koizumi and Aqua Amagawa all held hands once their beloved relative boarded that jet. As the bold man he was, he did not shed a single tear. He gave the group a friendly, yet melancholy and demoralizing wave that brought Aya to tears. Xion returned that same wave, a tear rolling down her cheek. Aqua kept a brave face and squeezed her family members' hands._

_Haruka Koizumi escaped into the jet, and the door of the plane closed behind him. His wife buried her face in Aqua's shoulder, releasing a cry of sorrow. Xion broke out into a sob as well, Aqua comforting them both._

_Little did they know that Haruka Koizumi would die on February 14__th__, 2014. During interrogation he would be shot in the head twice and stabbed in the back. The Koizumi and Amagawa family will mourn, Aya Koizumi suffering the most._

That Sunday evening I let out a good 30 minute cry, locking myself in my room and burrowing my head in my pillow. I didn't come to dinner; I didn't plan on eating at all that day.

Christmas Eve would be the next day, and most girls confessed their love at this time. I needed to confide in someone, besides Kairi, who I spent an hour on the phone with. I needed to talk to Roxas, maybe even confess my love to him.

I rang him up, Roxas answering on the first ring. "Moshi-moshi?"

"Hey Rox. I wanted to ask you something."

"Ask away."

I took a deep breath, loud enough for Roxas to hear over the line. "I was wondering if you would like to spend Christmas Eve with me tomorrow."

The line was dead silent.

"Moshi-moshi?"

I could hear him sigh heavily. "Xion, Namine already asked me to spend the Eve with her, and I couldn't turn her down. I'm sorry."

I was enraged. Namine was surely going to confess, I knew it.

"You know what? Fine, you spend the day with your girlfriend, I really don't care. Leave me at my house on a perfectly fine Christmas Eve while my mother and cousin are out having fun. Leave me alone to cry my ass off and worry about my father! I don't give a shit, Roxas, just _leave me alone_!"

I hung up and cried even more.

* * *

Mom and Aqua offered me to go shopping with them to make me feel better, but I declined, mainly because I hate shopping and I may see Namine and Roxas at the mall.

I spent the morning and afternoon curled up on the couch watching Studio Ghibli movies. I most of them, _My Neighbor Totoro, Ponyo, Spirited Away, The Secret World of Arrietty, Princess Monoke, Howl's Moving Castle, Kiki's Delivery Service, Castle in the Sky, _and much more. Of course I didn't watch all of them. I watched my favorite three, _Ponyo, Howl's Moving Castle_ and _Spirited Away_.

By the time Ponyo turned into a human I heard the doorbell ring. I paused my beloved movie, promising to come back, and answered the door to see Riku standing on my front porch. It was embarrassing to have him see me in my old nightgown, with pink hearts scattered everywhere.

"Hello…" I mumbled, shifting weight from side to side.

"Hey Xion. Roxas told me to come check on you; apparently he you cursed him out over the phone." Riku stated.

"Yeah…what time is it?"

He took a glance at his watch. "6:04."

6:04? Wow, those movies must've been pretty long.

"And by the way, I'm fine. You can leave now." I was prepared the slam the door in his face until he shouted, "Wait!"

"Yeah?"

"I was wondering if…you wanna hang out with me. For Christmas Eve." A blush grew on his face as he looked down at his shoes.

I thought about it. I wanted to go with Roxas, but he was with Namine. Kairi would be with Sora, Olette would be with Hayner, but who was Riku with? No one. And _I _wasn't with anyone either. I gave him a chance.

I wore black sweats with a purple hoodie and a lavender shirt underneath. Not too much; Christmas and Christmas Eve weren't that formal.

I put on my uniform coat and scarf, and we took the train to one of his favorite restaurants, _Kaji_ **(A/N: Kaji is Japanese for 'uncontrolled fire'. It's typically informal)**. Riku ordered yudofu while I ordered ramen, and while we waited for our food Riku kept cracking jokes and making me laugh. I never had so much fun ever since that Friday.

The food turned out to be scrumptious. Not as awesome as Asako's, but it's exceptional! We ordered obligation cake as our desert, to signify our relationship. I just hope Riku didn't think of me as a romantic interest; I was dealing with a love triangle already.

After dinner Riku and I hit up an arcade, where I beat him mercilessly at Dance Dance Revolution, and he beat _me_ ruthlessly at Time Crisis. We left at 9:45, for curfew was at 10:30.

We just walked along the Twilight Marketplace, talking about everything. Once we got to our house he sort of hesitated, and then he said, "I loved hanging out with you Xion. You're really fun."

I felt my cheeks heat up and my heart felt fluttery. He was such a flatterer. "You're fun too. I'll see you later, then."

"Okay then. Ja ne!" He walked off the porch and walked down the block. I watched him until he reached the corner, and then I went inside. Aqua and Mom weren't home yet, so I finished the rest of Ponyo and retired for the night. Mom would probably put the presents under the tree once she got home.

* * *

Christmas was…blah. It was the same every year, except for the fact Dad wasn't there and Aqua was. Mom and I gave Aqua the ice skates, which she _adored_ (And by that I mean wearing them for the rest of the day). Mom got me a Nikon camera and earrings, and Aqua gave me high-top Converse, since I told her in a letter that I'm a huge fan of the Converse Company.

I bought Mom two new outfits, and she wore one of them for the morning. Dinner wasn't as big as the early Christmas supper with Dad, but it was still home-cooked goodness.

We started the evening with a drama Aqua got us into, called _With Love_. After the second episode of the marathon on TV I got a call from Kairi.

"You will NOT believe what happened with Namine and Roxas yesterday!" She spoke in lightning fast and I tried my hardest to understand what she was saying.

Seemingly after Roxas and Namine ate dinner and sang karaoke, Namine persuaded Roxas to sneak in the school with her. They managed to get to the roof of the school, a place kids use to discuss really vital topics. What Namine had to say sure was vital.

Namine had confessed her love to Roxas, but Roxas told her that he was confused. He told her that he didn't know whom he loved. Namine got really emotional after it and told Olette, who told Kairi, who told me.

I should've been happy about what just happened, but I couldn't help but feel sorry for my rival-in-love. The world is turning into a sad place; Namine got rejected, Roxas probably hates me, my dad could die, and my mom could become a widow.

I'm surprised the world hasn't been swallowed with pain and agony.

* * *

**4,000 WORDS! MY LONGEST CHAPTER! This is also probably the saddest chapter so far. **

**SPOILER! KEEP SCROLLING DOWN IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO HEAR IT! The next chapter will be a short timeskip, and in this chapter the Koizumi family is told that Haruka is dead. ****L**

**Since I didn't have time to answer reviews before, I'll answer them now:**

***Chapter Four Reviews***

**OmegaStarShooter14: Ha, I will NEVER include an old, evil guy in any other my stories. EVER! And death is sexy in a way ****J**

**Legend Of zelda2: Xi-chan realized her feelings! WOOHOO! It's gonna take a while for her to confess, actually. There's going to be **_**another**_** timeskip after the eighth grade graduation, but you have to keep reading to see why I put a timeskip!**

***Chapter Five Reviews***

**Tinge: Thank you for your thoughts on Namine! Now that you mention it, Namine is more of a tritagonist as well as an antagonist. The deuteragonist is Roxas and the protagonist is Xion, just to let you know.**

**AnimexLuver4ever: We'll see if he feels that way about Xion! Read on to find out!**

**I never got a chance to discuss the character's ages, so here they are:**

***Before Eighth Grade Graduation Timeskip***

**Xion Koizumi: 13**

**Roxas Okabe: 13**

**Namine: 13**

**Kairi Igarashi: 13**

**Sora Fujima: 13**

**Riku Shiname: 14**

**Aya Koizumi: 45**

**Haruka Koizumi: 47**

**Aqua Amagawa: 23**

**Olette: 14**

***After Eighth Grade Graduation Timeskip***

**Xion: 15**

**Roxas: 15**

**Namine: 15**

**Kairi: 15**

**Riku: 16**

**Sora: 15**

**Aqua: 25**

**See ya next chapter!**


	7. WHAT?

**Hey guys! My laptop is really acting up, so I'll have to use Safe Mode whenever I make stories. Yeah…**

**I'm going to answer reviews right now, because I really want to clear up some stuff:**

**OmegaStarShooter14: No, the boy in the picture wasn't Terra or Vanitas. I'm making a prequel with Aqua as the primary character, explaining her time at Twilight High. I'll give you a hint; the boy is from an anime…and btw, I wanted to do the RikuShi to imply their relationship in the future, which I will not give out now because you have to keep reading!**

**Legend Of zelda2: Lol, I was at a Truth or Dare night and my friend was dared to do Seven Minutes in the Closet with her crush. They were in the closet for MORE than seven minutes, and when I went to check on them they were in a full make-out session. It was terrifying! That was my inspiration for the Sora and Kairi incident. And Xion will be **_**very**_** sad when she realizes her father's death. I was mad at everyone in the sixth chapter, except for Aya, Haruka, Riku and Aqua.**

**KeyToOblivion: Whoa, can you read my mind or something? I wrote the story down on paper before I typed it, and what you said was what I was going to do! Thank you very much for the recommendation!**

**Tinge: I'm glad you liked the chapter! It was honestly my favorite update.**

**I'll be updating really fast, guys! I want to end this series by the end of the summer so this won't interfere with school studies.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own First Love by Utada or anything else listed in the story.**

* * *

WHAT?

Fireworks reminded me of meteor showers, and meteor showers reminded me of Roxas. I tried to avoid New Year's at all cost, because on the stroke of midnight they set off gleaming, vivid fireworks. I was still infuriated with Roxas; it was childish but I had a reason.

On the seventh day of New Year's, the day before Aqua left and school started back up, he left a letter in the mailbox, decorated with vibrant star stickers. I reluctantly tore it open, and a letter in kanji read,

_Dear Xion,_

_What's wrong? Will you please tell me? If you don't I'll knock down your door and ask you in person. Is it because of Namine; are you jealous of her at all? Just tell me and I'll try to fix it! _

_Your loving friend,_

_Roxas_

Jealous? Of _Namine_? And I hated how he said at the end, _your loving friend_; yeah right. The letter made me even angrier, and I ripped it in tiny pieces and threw it in the trash.

I ignored his calls, didn't reply to his texts and emails, and deleted most of his IMs. I was dealing with enough in my life-why didn't he just leave me _alone_?

In the evening we had a small dinner, and afterwards Aqua and Mom talked over tea, like with Mom and Dad when they were debating on whether to tell the secret or not. They didn't want me to listen in, but I could still eavesdrop, right?

I observed Aqua, who sported a sad complexion and sipped tiny amounts of tea. "He never told me where he was in The Land of Departure. I've lived there for three years and in his letters he never told me where his location was." Aqua stated softly, taking another small sip of her tea.

"Maybe the case was a lot to deal with and he never had the time to tell you." Mom said reassuringly. "You mustn't bring yourself down. It's not your fault."

Aqua twirled a strand of her shoulder-length azure hair and sighed. "You're right. This serial killer is renowned nationally and he _is_ the leader of the investigation team. I'll find him no matter the cost!"

I tried to sum up the state of affairs: Aqua moved to The Land of Departure to find a guy who was the leader of an investigation team that was tracking down a criminal.

Was this the guy in the picture she had? She had said something about finding him when she held the photograph to her chest. But what leader of an investigation team wore sagged blue jeans, a grimy long-sleeved white T-shirt, and never combed his hair? Aqua had a weird taste for men.

I went to sleep early that night. Aqua would be leaving at six in the morning, and school started back up the next day. I was dreading to see Roxas.

Actually, I was dreading to see everyone at school.

* * *

There were two new students in the seventh grade that Kairi and Sora grew attached to; Selphie and Tidus. They were from Destiny Islands, along with Namine, and Kairi, being the Student Body President, was supposed to show them both around. And since Sora was Kairi's boyfriend (After that make-out session they've been dating, yet they toned down the intimacy), he striked up relationships with the two of them, especially Tidus.

It was really awkward sitting at the same table as Roxas at lunch, so I sat with Kairi, Olette and Namine at another table. Every time Namine looked at Roxas she burst into tears and ran away in the opposite direction-every time I saw Roxas I glared daggers at him and walked away in the opposite direction.

I was Namine's rival, but we were both dealing with our hardships so we comforted each other. I realized I was being selfish, that I wanted Roxas really bad and I didn't give Namine a chance. Namine could have Roxas, I didn't care anymore.

Roxas left a note in my locker asking how I was doing, but I spit on it and crumbled it up, tossing it in a nearby trash can. Didn't he get the memo that I didn't want to talk to him, in person _or_ via letter?

It was a Monday, so I would be walking home with Kairi, but she told me she'd be at a new café afterschool, so I walked home alone. The weather heated up, reaching to about 54 degrees. We didn't need the uniform jackets, but we did need to wear light jackets. The sakura trees **(A/N: A sakura tree is Japanese for a cherry blossom tree) **were bare and unembellished, giving the school path a rather desolate tone. When spring came the sakura leaves would gradually grow.

My stomach released a noisy growl, signifying that I needed a snack. On my way home I bought sea salt ice cream. Sea salt ice cream was more enjoyable at the clock tower, so I ditched the path back home and headed towards the train station.

By the time I got the top I was about to sit on the ledge of the tower, until I felt a presence nearby. I could see Roxas with an ice cream, licking it slowly and making sniffling sounds. It was apparent he was crying, but...why wasn't he with the music club?

"Why doesn't she like me? Does she hate me now?" He whispered to himself, taking a light lick at the ice cream. Was he talking about Namine, or me?

I walked away silently and sauntered back home, my ice cream still in hand.

* * *

February 13th, 2014

Mom couldn't give Dad the usual chocolate she gave him on Valentine's Day, since he was miles away and the chocolate would melt on the way there. I wasn't planning on giving giri-choko **(A/N: Giri-choko is obligation chocolate, given to a non-romantic interest on Valentine's Day)** to Roxas, but I _did_ give it to Riku, who had grown into a really great friend.

There would be a Valentine's Dance two days after Valentine's Day itself, because that year Valentine's Day was on Wednesday and it'd be natural to have a dance on a Friday. I wanted to ask Riku, but since Namine already asked him I was left with only one guy; Roxas.

Sora was already going with Kairi, Hayner would be with Olette, Tidus would be with Selphie, everyone had someone except for me and Roxas.

I heard a lot of girls already asked Roxas, but he turned them all down, saying that he wasn't going. After hearing this I dropped all ideas of a dance and planned on not going too.

I came home to see Mom gazing at pictures on the digital picture frame, her eyes glued to the screen. The frame switched to a photo of Mom with her sister, Aqua's deceased mother, sharing ramen at a restaurant. I whispered a 'Hello' and strolled off to my room, where I did homework at my desk.

The afternoon soon turned into an evening, and that evening turned into nighttime, when I went to bed. I couldn't help but wonder what Dad was doing; he was probably chopping off heads with his katana. He's been sending letters every Thursday, and it soon became me and Mom's favorite day of the week.

Dad was safe. I was sure of it.

* * *

Valentine's Day was boring. Mom went out with friends (Who were all single), and afterschool I was all alone. Kairi was out with Sora and Olette was with Hayner. Namine was with…no one. I decided to call and check on her.

She had gotten over her rejection, she told me, but she still loved Roxas. That meant she was still my rival in love (She didn't know I liked Roxas. The only people who knew that was Kairi and my parents), but she was my friend.

Namine was pretty fun to talk to. She shared a story about her father coming home from work with his hair and work suit charred. There was a small explosion in the snack room of the company headquarters, and seemingly her father had a tiny bit of aluminum foil with his food in a microwave. There was an insignificant detonation, but it still left his clothing and hair scalded.

After 30 minutes of stories and laughter I hung up and focused on my biology homework. No one gave homework on a holiday, no one except Mr. Vexen…

I wished Dad was there to help me.

* * *

Mom and I had gotten two things in the mail that Thursday, a normal letter and a telegram. We opened the letter first, knowing it was from Dad.

_Dear Family,_

_I mainly want Aya to read this letter. I know the man isn't supposed to give the lady a present on Valentine's Day, but since this is the first Valentine's Day we are separate, I have a gift for you. _

_Aya (And Xion too if she's reading this), do not look ahead on this letter. I will give you directions to where your gift is. Go into our bedroom, Aya._

Mom and I did as told.

_If you're in there, I want you to look behind the dresser. Do you see a handle on the wall in the rear? If you do, pull it back._

I helped Mom push the bureau to the side, and as he wrote there was a handle. Mom pulled it back slowly, and we discovered a small compartment. More importantly, inside the compartment was a golden locket.

Mom gasped as she pulled it out the compartment, holding it gingerly and running her fingers down the gold surface.

_It's beautiful, isn't it? I bought it a while ago once I heard that I'd be sent off again. Anyway, I want you to keep this. If I die, this will be a memento of your husband Haruka. Happy Valentine's Day._

_Hugs and Kisses,_

_Haruka_

Tears began to roll down her cheeks as she read the last few sentences. I was reminded of the telegram that had been sent, and we both read it together. This one was not good news. More like news sent from Hell.

_Dear Koizumi Family,_

_We are very sorry to say that Haruka Koizumi, age 47, has been killed on February 14, 2014, while being interrogated by the enemy. Our prayers go out to your beloved relative._

_His body, as stated in a contract, will be incinerated and sent to your family. His body will also be sent back to Twilight Islands, where there will be a private funeral on Sunday, February 18__th__, 2014, before incineration. We thank you for a noble and moral soldier._

_Sincerely,_

_The Dragon Forces of Twilight Islands_

I stared at the telegram for five minutes before reading it over again. Mom was shell-shocked, her tears coming down at a rapid rate.

"No…" Mom murmured, crumpling the telegram in her hands and throwing it against the wall. "No, no, **NO!** He can't die, he just can't!" I started crying with her, and we ended up hugging each other for consolation. We didn't have dinner that night; we just locked ourselves in our rooms. I didn't go to school the next day, because that day was the day to mourn and cry.

* * *

"I do think you should go to the dance, cupcake." Mom told me, patting my head affectionately and smiling. She was doing her best to cope with the pain and grief, and I deeply admired her for that.

"But even if I did go I'd have no one to go with…"

"Just go as you are! I don't want you sulking around the house on a perfectly good Friday evening. You need to have fun, and having a deceased father isn't going to change that." She gave me a heartwarming smile and escaped the living room, ambling off to the kitchen.

I guess it couldn't hurt to just dance a little. Plus, I haven't seen Kairi and Riku and everyone else today, and they were probably worrying about me.

The dance started at six, and it was five-forty five then. I figured it'd be a semi-formal dance, so I wore a cerulean-blue spaghetti-strap sundress with light-blue sandals. I grabbed my phone and house key, bid farewell to my mother and left.

The weather had gone back to normal, ranging around 70-76 degrees. By then all students had returned their uniform coats and scarves. I walked down the school path, and I noticed a lot of kids were already trudging up the hill to the school gymnasium.

For one, I saw Kairi with Sora, holding hands, and by the minute she glimpsed in my direction she sprinted towards me, yanking Sora with her.

"XI-CHAN! Where _were_ you?" Kairi asked hastily.

"I'll…tell you later, 'kay? Something…happened." I never told her about the Dragon Force stuff, so if I told her right then, surrounded by all the kids on the school path, students can hear and spread the news. I had to tell her in private.

Kairi got the memo and continued walking with Sora, their fingers still intertwined. The only person I could talk to openly was Roxas, but he wasn't at the dance. I told myself to just keep the truth veiled.

* * *

The gym had been transformed into a red and pink wonderland. The walls were decorated with stick-on hearts with cherry-colored streamers hanging from every possible enclose. A disco ball was installed in the ceiling smack-dab in the middle of the gymnasium, leaving sparkles and beams of light everywhere.

There was a DJ in a corner playing 'Crazy 4U' by Kumi Koda, while there was a buffet table serving sushi, rice balls and onigiri, yakitori, korokke, tempura, and soda. Not too many kids were there already; some were dancing and a handful were on the bleachers talking. I was pretty hungry, so I snagged some rice balls and stuffed them in my mouth.

By 6:45 the gym was swarming with students, many of them dancing with a partner. Kairi, Olette and Namine were there and we danced to a few songs, and I remembered when Kairi attempted to break-dance to a tune by Bennie K and almost sprained her ankle.

At 7:25 the unexpected ensued; Roxas came in through the gymnasium doors in casual clothing **(A/N: His KH2 appearance)**. My heart nearly stopped. I wasn't mad at Roxas anymore, after the death of my father, but…I just don't feel comfortable around him anymore. Roxas walked straight to the buffet table, where I was standing, and picked up a spicy tuna sushi roll. He casually popped it in his mouth, and while he was distracted I slowly tiptoed back.

I was startled by the static of the mike as the DJ announced to find a partner. Then he started playing 'First Love' by Utada, my ringtone, and my heart skipped a beat.

Damn my bad luck.

Roxas walked up to me (Crap, crap, crap!), and he asked me to dance. (NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!) I really didn't want to be rude and turn him down, but like I said, it felt uncomfortable to be with him again. I squeaked out a 'Yes,' and I wrapped my arms around his neck.

He sort of hesitated before he draped his arms around my waist, and my heart skipped another beat. Roxas never touched me in that kind of way-we've never slow danced before. He pulled me in closer, and my grip on his neck hardened. We swayed from side-to-side, his feet in perfect rhythm. Who knew Roxas could dance?

Soon the chorus of the song came on, and I laid my head on his chest.

_You are always gonna be my love,_

_Itsu ka dare ka to mata koi ni ochite mo,_

_I'll remember to love, you taught me how._

_You are always gonna be the one,_

_Ima wa mada kanashii love song,_

_Atarahii uta utaeru made._

Soon my feelings for Roxas began to flood in again; the way we talked and how we helped each other. Roxas probably didn't like romantically, but I knew he cared for me as his best friend. Love and friendship reminded me of my father, and I realized I needed to tell him.

"Roxas…my father…" I couldn't finish my sentence; it was too painful to say.

"Hm?"

"Roxas, my father…he was killed." I lifted my head and looked up at his face, showing a mix of concern and shock.

"In battle?"

"No, he was interrogated by the enemy, and I believe he was killed for not giving out the information they needed."

He paused for a moment. "That was really noble, Xion. You should be proud." He was smiling, which caused a few tears to pour out the corners of my eyes.

"Yeah. I know." I laid my head back on his chest and my tears ceased. The chorus of the song came back on, and I could totally relate to lyrics.

I hoped Roxas could, too.

* * *

**Another sad, sad chapter. The next chapter will probably be a bit…gory, and it will be as sad as this one.**

**Okay, I'll admit, this story has some ties with Death Note. The Death Note does exist in this universe, yet it does not appear in Turning Tides. And if you have ever watched Death Note, you could infer who Aqua likes…**

**There will be more of an explanation in the prequel I'm making. I'll give you guys the summary:**

_**Aqua is entering another year of high school; senior year. Will it be as boring as her previous years? Probably. But what happens when a mass murderer, Kira, is on the loose? Why does that transfer student Light seem so odd? And what's with the creepy fellow who follows poor Aqua around? Join Aqua and her endeavors with the task force as they put an end to Kira!**_

**Are you excited, 'cause I am! Thanks for reading another chapter, I'll update soon!**


	8. Find Me

**20+ REVIEWS! WOOT! This is awesome! Arigatou, supporters!**

**Sorry 4 the sorta late update. I was supposed to update yesterday, but I had an excruciatingly painful headache yesterday and I felt so bad I didn't wanna look at a screen ever again. Do you believe this? It's true!**

**WARNING! MINOR GORE AHEAD! IF YOU ARE NOT A FAN OF GORE I SUPPOSE YOU SKIP THE GORY PART!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Spirited Away or Lovely Complex (Have you noticed that Xion's last name was named after TWO anime characters, Itsuki Koizumi from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya and Risa Koizumi from Lovely Complex? Pretty neat, huh?**

* * *

Find Me

My father was walking out the jet, onto the stairs. Aqua, Mom and I burst into tears of joy and embraced him firmly, refusing to let go of the hierarchy of the family.

He pecked Mom on the cheek, gave Aqua a high-five, and lastly, ruffled my hair affectionately. Something didn't feel right though; it was like I'd never receive that pat on the head ever again.

The aroma of miso soup and apples roused me, snapping me out of my blissful dream and sending me to the kitchen. Mom was, of course, chopping up apples and placing them gently beside my steaming hot bowl of miso.

"Ohayo." I mumbled, climbing onto the stool and slurping my soup at the breakfast bar.

"Ohayo to you to, cupcake." Replied Mom, placing her bowl besides me at the bar and climbing onto her chair, slurping happily with me.

It had been exactly two months after we discovered the death of my father, April 15th. Mom was still mourning-she couldn't even bear to look at the digital picture frame. I soon accepted his death, but I continuously asked myself, _Why me_?

I told everyone at my lunch table about my father and the Dragon Forces. It took me a while to force the words out of my mouth, so, being the great friend he is, Roxas helped me. Everyone tried their best to be sympathetic and not bring up sensitive topics, like for example, fathers.

We had Spring Exams, which were easier than Winter Exams but still torturous. Even with the death of my father, I didn't stress over the exams, and a week later when we got back results I got one of the highest test scores! If I kept up my grades, I could recite the commencement speech at my graduation! **(A/N: Usually in Japan there is no such thing as a valedictorian. I think.)**

Speaking of Winter Exams, I did pretty well, but not as good as the Spring Exams. There was more stress put on me that time of year.

It was a lazy Saturday morning, which included breakfast, anime, and a scalding shower. In the afternoon I would call up one of my friends to go to the movies or the pool.

I was watching an old episode of _Lovely Complex_ when Kairi called. She told me she, Namine and Olette were going to the amusement park later that day.

I could've used some fun roller coaster time, so I accepted. I finished the said episode (Filled with Risa and Otani bickering), took my shower, and told Mom where I was going later that day.

Mom had taken my place in the living room, curled up on the couch and fiddling with the gold locket Dad gave her. I was going to tell her until I heard her whisper something.

"I can't cope without you, Haruka."

I stopped in my tracks. Mom was still mourning; she looked melancholy, spoke sadly and couldn't even touch anything that belonged to Dad without releasing a tear.

I told her where I was going abruptly and ran to my room. I couldn't allow my mother to feel sad, I wanted her to move on and be happy.

She probably thought it was her fault.

* * *

"Okay, where to first, girls? The ferris wheel or the Tsunami?" Kairi asked all three of us. Kairi bought the tickets a day in advance, so we had got into the park fairly quickly.

"I don't know about the Tsunami; I heard one kid had projectile vomiting for a week after riding it. And I think the ferris wheel is better last." Olette stated.

"I agree. Let's go on something light, like the Turbo Train!" I shouted. The Turbo Train was an indoor roller coaster that was _really_ dark inside, I mean _really _dark. It does all of these crazy turns, but your stomach doesn't feel very queasy afterwards.

"How many votes for Turbo Train?" Kairi asked. Everyone's hands shot up except Kairi's. "Aw man, I wanted to do the Tsunami! Oh well, Turbo Train it is…"

The line was reasonably short, and after a ten minute wait we had our own coaster on the ride.

After the countdown the coaster started moving at a slow rate, but it picked up speed gradually. By the time we started going really fast the lights went out, and we were in pitch-black darkness. Namine screamed, and Kairi had to cover her mouth for us to enjoy the ride.

At the end the shade of Namine's face had turned into an avocado-green. A _light_ ride, huh?

We went on the Merry-Go-Ride next, as well as the bathroom. We bought a large bag of cotton candy for us to share, and by the time we found a new ride the bag was empty.

I needed to be home at 7, so we only had two hours to go on a few more rides. The crowds and clusters of people soon began to leave, and waiting time for rides got shorter. That gave us plenty of time to visit the Tsunami and the ferris wheel.

Even if there weren't too many people there at 5:00, the waiting time for the Tsunami still was rather long, about an hour. We spent the hour by just cracking meaningless jokes and doing whatever we teenagers like to do. Olette was about to tell us a story until we realized we were at the front of the line.

The ride was the scariest I've ever been on.

You start out slow on your coaster, and all of a sudden you start zipping through the air. There are loop-the-loops, twisty-turnies, a _huge_ downfall, and in the middle of the ride, your coaster starts spinning in circles in midair. You spin for a few seconds and you continue the ride.

At the end we all had to gasp for air. Namine actually leaned over and puked, which was not a lovely sight because it was pink and blue from the cotton candy we snacked on.

With our spare minutes we went on the ferris wheel and talked about everyday life. It was a refreshing afternoon; well, a _semi_-refreshing afternoon cram-packed with vomit, roller coasters, cotton candy and Namine's face turning green.

At 6:30 we took the train back home. Mom was still curled up on the couch, a dinner plate in front of her on the coffee table. She was watching my set of Studio Ghibli movies, this one being _Spirited Away_. I sat with her, taking in the breath-taking animation and art of the movie. I could tell Mom was crying because she had a box of tissues propped right against her.

Yup, my mother was over-emotional. I couldn't blame her.

I crept into the kitchen to see if Mom made me dinner. My plate was on the table, with aluminum foil covering it. As I went to the counter to find a knife for my meal, I couldn't help but notice that one was sharpened very well.

* * *

The school-year had gone by, and soon there were only two more weeks of school. The May weather was splendid, something you didn't see in a lot of countries. It was crisp, revitalizing and not too hot.

At our school we didn't have Final Exams; Spring Exams covered that. Instead the last few weeks of eighth grade were spent on fun, fun, and more fun.

I was striving to address the commencement speech at graduation. Usually the female and male with the highest test scores get to recite their own written one. In advance, everyone writes one at the beginning of May.

In homeroom that day, Mr. Xehanort was given paper telling who the highest-testing people in the eighth grade were. He even said one of them was in our homeroom.

This is where the hushed squeal comes in.

"Our female candidate is…" Mr. Xehanort started. The tension was so thick you couldn't cut it with a knife; you needed a chainsaw.

"Koizumi! Xion Koizumi is our female candidate! Congratulations!"

My scream of joy and relief was deafening. I actually ran up to Mr. Xehanort and hugged him, lifting him up from where he was standing.

The whole classroom burst into applause, with Roxas, Kairi, Namine and Olette clapping the loudest. I felt like a winner, a champion at that. I knew that I was the smartest out of every girl in the eighth grade, and since I was at the highest grade, I was smarter than any other girl attending the school!

Mr. Xehanort quieted us down and I sat back in my seat, for he was going to announce the male candidate. He only said one person from our homeroom, which was me, would go through, and everyone's anticipation reduced.

"Our male candidate is Riku Shiname, from homeroom 3-C."

Riku got through? I knew Riku was smart, but he didn't seem like the test-taker type of person. In fact, he appeared as a laid-back, average student. I guess it was a fair analysis.

Throughout the halls everyone congratulated me, some people I've never even met before. A lot of people congratulated Riku too, mainly girls. I have to admit, his hair_ is_ to die for. He's probably the only guy I've met who could make long hair look super-sexy.

And of course, Mr. Axel.

At lunch my usual lunch table had three times as many people sitting there. My friends actually had to separate themselves from Riku and me, where we were surrounded by random girls and boys. I just wanted to have a normal lunch break with my friends, but _nooooooo_, I had to be chosen to recite a commencement speech and sit with a cluster of students who want to know our academic secrets!

I never knew being a candidate could be so messed up.

For the rest of the school day things went swimmingly. The crowds of people that cornered me have disappeared, and I could go through the rest of the day in peace. It was a Tuesday, so he and I bought some sea-salt ice cream and ate it at the clock tower.

I really loved Roxas, I truly did. He was my life; I don't know if I could live without him. He's always been there for me, and I've always been there for him. I just hope he loved me back, which would mean the _world_ to me.

We walked to our old grade school at 4:30 and took in our childhood. The playground had been remodeled, and some trees in the field were cut down. Despite all of this, it reminded us of the good old days. We fooled around on the swings (Not _that_ type of fooling around!), having races to see who would go the highest. He always beat me, but he _was_ a boy, so he had the advantage.

We slid on the slides together, throwing woodchips at the bottom of the slide which would hurt our bottoms (It still was fun!). We raced in the field, climbed the trees, and did our best to unleash the inner child in us. We needed to let it all out before we entered high school.

Around 5:00 we marched off towards our house, which was just two blocks away from the elementary school. I unlocked the door and called out my usual 'I'm home', but I received no answer.

I said it again, still no answer. Of course, my mother was at work, what was I thinking? Mom had been on vacation for a long time after Dad died, because her boss thought it was 'best for her to let it all out'. I'd been so used to her staying home I forget she was at work!

Roxas watched TV as I prepared a snack. Mom's room was next to the kitchen, so I decided to just knock on it, just to see if she was in there. I twisted the knob on the door, only to discover that it was locked.

I remembered Dad teaching me how to lockpick, which was a skill he needed to enlist with the Dragon Forces. I found a bobby pin on my dresser, and with that and a knife I did my best to twist the lock open. To my success, it worked.

When I opened the door the sight before me almost made me have a heart attack.

Mom was sprawled on the floor, the same sharpened knife I noticed a month ago beside her. A massive amount of blood escaped her wrists, leaving a pool of blood alongside each one. Her shirt was rolled up to her chest, and a long horizontal gash had been carved into her stomach, oozing out blood. She was unconscious; her eyes were closed but she was still breathing.

I ran up to her side and yelled for Roxas, who sprinted to my location in a blink of an eye.

"Call the paramedics, now!" I screamed out him, holding up her head, which felt cold. I noticed there was another wound on the back of her head, seeping out blood and leaving a puddle of the crimson liquid where her head lay.

Roxas did as I told him, and soon the shrill sirens of the ambulance were outside my door. Roxas let them in and ushered them into the room, where they put Mom on a stretcher and led her into the truck. I came along with Roxas, and we sat in the back of the ambulance in silence. Mom still had her locket around her neck, and I reached over to take it off.

A paramedic faced me. "Are you this woman's daughter?"

I nodded. "Yes, my name is Xion, and this is my friend Roxas. We went to my house around five o'clock, and her bedroom door was locked. I managed to get in her room, and I just saw her lying there…" I started to let go of a few tears and Roxas handed me a tissue.

"Could you tell me more about her?"

"Yes, actually. Her name is Koizumi Aya, she's about 45. 5'2, Libra, and a widow. Our father died in the war a few months ago."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Miss. Koizumi."

"Yes, I am too…"

* * *

We rushed into the hospital, the paramedics carrying Mom on the stretcher and Roxas and I running behind them. Roxas had called his parents about where he was at and they would be there as soon as possible, he said.

We were told to wait in the waiting room for a while. Roxas was about as worried as I was. He knew my parents well, he even called them Mom and Dad.

Five minutes after we entered the hospital Roxas' parents came in with the most horrifying faces I've ever seen. His mother, Misako, gave me a warm hug and his father, Takumi, gave me a pat on the head. Together we sat in the waiting room, a cloud of tension descended before us. The tension then was even thicker than earlier that day.

After three hours of anticipation a nurse signaled us to Mom's room. Roxas and his parents would go inside first, then me. I didn't want to go first; I was way too scared of the outcome.

They spent ten minutes inside, and then they came out and told me it was my turn. My legs felt like rubber as I sauntered down the hospital halls. Her room was 1-28, the twenty-eighth room on the first floor.

I was face-to-face with the door to the room. I slowly moved my hand until it touched the surface of the knob. I gradually twisted it until the door completely swung open.

And there was Mom.

She was clad in a periwinkle-colored hospital gown, under the blankets of the hospital bed. Her eyes were wide open, and when I opened the door, she swiveled her head towards me and gave me a heartfelt smile that made me want to bawl.

I pulled up a chair and placed it beside her bed, collapsing in it and facing her.

"Hi Mom," I whispered, folding my arms on the bed.

"Hello Xion." She whispered back. She pulled a loose strand of my hair and placed it snugly behind my ear.

"Mom, did you do this to yourself?"

She gave me a soulful glance and closed her eyes. "Yes. I couldn't manage without your father, you see. We were soul mates from the minute I was born."

"Really?"

"Yes. Your grandmothers were best friends, and my mother was giving labor to me. She brought along Haruka because her husband had died while she was pregnant, and she couldn't leave him alone at their house.

"After my mother gave birth to me Haruka's mother came in the room with Haruka himself. That was the day I met him.

"We got along very well, to the point where we were best friends. When Dad was 13 and I was 11, your grandmother died in a plane crash, so we offered him a place to stay at our house. Living with Haruka made me grow different feelings for him, feelings of love.

"We were both in high school when I confessed. He first didn't accept me, because he loved another girl, Misako."

I gasped. "Misako? That's Roxas' mother!"

"Correct. He liked Misako, but Misako fell in love with Takumi and they started dating. That really broke Haruka's heart, and every day I did my best to console him.

"One day when we were walking to school, your father kissed me for the first time. It was completely unexpected; I had thought he loved Misako. I told him this myself, and he said, 'I've always loved you, Aya, I've just never admitted it. I've loved you from the day I saw you.'

"From that day onward I told myself I couldn't live without him. I've loved him from the day I met him, too, the day I was born." Mom gave me a half-smile and squeezed my hand. "Promise me you won't commit suicide if Roxas dies, okay?"

She stated it like it was a joke, but it wasn't the slightest bit amusing to me. "Don't worry, I won't. And Mom…"

"Hm?"

"Couldn't you just move on if Dad dies? You don't have to kill yourself for it."

Mom gave me another smile and kissed my forehead. "Pumpkin, when you get divorced with your husband, you can move on. When your husband dies, you can't."

I guess the word 'husband' made her think of her locket, because by the time she was finished with her statement her hands flew up to her neck. "My locket…where is it?"

I could feel the accessory sheltered inside my uniform breast pocket. I pull it out and hand it to her, but she refuses to take it.

"You keep it. My time on this planet is running out, and it'll be useless to me once I die. If you keep it, you can always remember the three of us together."

"Mom, how could you die? It's only a few cuts, right?" I asked her impatiently. I couldn't have her die, she _won't_ die.

She shook her head leisurely. "No. I cut my wrists right to the bone, plus I made that ugly incision on my stomach. Not to mention the slash on the back of my head, that one bled like crazy.

"I'm suffering from severe blood loss. I drew out so much blood I knocked myself out cold. You see I have an IV in my hand, right?" She showed me her right hand, the one she wasn't squeezing my hand with, and an IV was impaling the palm of her hand.

"I'll stay here for the night. Will the nurse let me?" I asked her.

"Probably, since you're my daughter. I need some company right now." She replied rather happily. I bet she did need some. I rested my head on her lap and shut my eyes. It was only 8:45, but with everything that happened that day I was pretty pooped.

I managed to fall asleep, Mom ruffling my raven-black hair rhythmically.

* * *

I was still in my school uniform when I woke up, something I wasn't used to. A blanked was wrapped around my body, as well the locket hanging off my neck. Roxas and his parents probably left, since I looked at a nearby clock that read 3:34.

I wasn't planning on going to school at all. I knew someone had already called the school about the situation I was in right now.

Mom was fast asleep, breathing steadily. She seemed fine, but her pulse according to the cardiac monitor was very slow. It would speed up, soon.

I see a note taped onto Mom's blanket, written in no one other than my cousin Aqua's handwriting.

_Hey Fams,_

_I booked the earliest flight I could get just to get here. I got here around 12 and you guys were fast asleep. Bummer. I hope you're feeling alright, Auntie. And if you're reading this Xi-Xi, I wrapped you in that blanket so you wouldn't feel cold._

_Get Better Soon, Auntie!_

_Aqua_

_(P.S: I have those spare keys to the house, so I'll be staying there until you get better)_

Aqua came by…how considerate. Too bad she came so late at night.

I think I roused Mom, because I could hear a faint yawn. She glanced my way and smiled, and when she started to talk her voice was extremely scratchy. I could remember exactly what she said.

"They're coming to take me."

The cardiac monitor started beeping, and I began to panic. "Isn't the IV working? You should be getting your nutrients! No, no, no!"

Mom gave me one last smile and spoke in a tone barely above a whisper. "I'll see you later, Xion."

She closed her eyes slowly. Seconds later her arms went limp. The cardiac monitor displayed a straight green line and a long, beeping noise, which only meant one thing.

Mom had died.

* * *

***Tries best to hold back tears, but fails epically and starts bawling* That. Was. THE. Saddest. Chapter. EVER!**

**I'll *sniffle* reply to reviews now.**

**Legend Of zelda2: No cliffhanger, sorry. I turned the RokuShi love back on, yay! And I'm very glad you figured out who Aqua loves. He's MY crush but Aqua and I can share XD**

**OmegaStarShooter14: I completely HATED Xion in that chapter! I thought I may have bashed her a bit, but…she loves him now, so double-yay!**

**Key To Oblivion: You cried? Wow, I teared up a lot on this chapter, but I didn't know **_**that**_** chapter would be that sad! This story will be sort of depressing, so if you're that kind of happy-go-lucky and upbeat person this story is not for you ****L**** it will get a bit happier soon, in about…two chapters. Next chapter will be semi-sad, but not as sad as the last two chapters. I just realized I said 'sad' in that sentence a billion of times! ****J**

**Tinge: I liked the dance part too, and EVERYONE thinks this story is sad! Read 'Black and White' by XIIXV! That's a sad (but very good) story for you!**

**AnimexLuver4Ever: Glad you think it's AMAZING! You're amazing yourself!**

**Ractay14: Thanks 4 the feedback! Is the story **_**really**_** turning out okay? I'll try not to put in tragedy after tragedy, that'll make the story kind of boring.**

**See ya next time, readers!**


	9. Good Riddance

**Thank you for such positive reviews! I love hearing from my readers and I'm flattered you like the story!**

**The first half of the story will be told from Roxas' point of view, then Xion's. This is the graduation chapter, and at the end, well…you'll have to find out what happens!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own 'Good Riddance' by Green Day.**

* * *

Good Riddance

_Roxas woke up to the sound of his mother's sobs. It was 6:30, but his parents were wide awake._

_He crept out of bed and threw on a T-Shirt (Mrs. Okabe said walking around the house shirtless was unmannered and uncouth), walking out of his bedroom. The cries were coming from the dining room, where Mr. Okabe was attempting to console his wife. _

"_Mom? Dad?" Roxas asked them sheepishly while walking into the room. Mrs. Okabe abruptly stopped crying and looked up at him._

"_Roxas…we have bad news." She started, standing up from where she was sitting and walking over towards Roxas._

"_What kind of bad news?"_

_She sighed and wiped her eyes. "Roxas, Xion's mom died last night in the hospital."_

_Roxas' eyes grew to the size of golf balls._

* * *

The school was informed of Mrs. Koizumi's death, I heard. That explains why Mr. Xehanort told us to be understanding and sensitive towards Xion.

I didn't understand, though. Why is Xion burdened with all of this crap? I mean, her father died, her mother killed herself, she has to recite a commencement speech in front of crowd of kids and she has to deal with the fact that she's an…orphan.

Lunch was depressing. The whole eighth grade knew that Xion was an orphan, and Kairi took it hard. I heard she went to Xion's house for lunch. The cafeteria was rowdy, as usual; at our lunch table no one uttered a single word. I barely even touched my ramen, which I usually polish off in seconds. Namine tried to start a conversation, but Riku put a finger to his lips, mouthing, _this is a silent moment_.

My afternoon classes were a drag, as usual. Mr. Vexen didn't mention a thing about Xion and her mother, and he did what he usually did. However he didn't yell at anyone, and he spoke softly.

That day was the last music club meeting. I suggested we create a song for Xion, and everyone agreed. I wanted it to be acoustic; my Fender Stratocaster was a bit too harsh for the song. Ventus and I wrote the lyrics while the rest of the club decided on how the melody should go.

At around 4:30 everything was ready and we all played it together. It sounded worse when fifteen people played it in unison, and it would sound nicer if only one or two people played it.

I said goodbye to the club members at five and headed back home with Ventus. He didn't know Xion very well, but they _have_ met and talked before, so they understood each other a bit. Xion had a small affinity for music; she was a decent singer.

My acoustic was at home (I borrowed one from the club, but I gave it back), and I had my Stratocaster with me at the moment. I traded my Stratocaster with my acoustic and left the house. Before I left, I heard someone say, "I wouldn't bother Xion if I were you."

I turned around and saw Ven standing feet away from me. He still had his acoustic in its case, hanging off his back.

"Why shouldn't I?"

"Because she's in mourning. I can tell." Ven said, flicking off a speck of dirt on his shoulder. "She didn't come to school, plus she may move away."

I looked at him with a dumbfounded look that turned into a glare. "Where did you hear that?"

"Her cousin. I met her once over winter break and we've been in touch ever since."

"You mean Aqua?"

"Yeah. Xion's going to finish off the year and a few days after graduation she'll move back to the Land of Departure with Aqua." Ven explained. He didn't seem smug about the idea of Xion leaving; they _were_ friends.

"I don't believe you. Aqua can just stay here with Xion and let her attend high school _here_."

Ven looked down at his shoes and said sadly, "We'll just have to see."

By the time he said 'see' I had already walked out the door.

* * *

I texted Xion in advance to meet me at our old elementary school by the shady tree, the place where we used meet at lunch in grade school. It was the largest tree in the playground, smack-dab in the middle of the field. It provided a great amount of shade with its branches and leaves.

When I got there she was already sitting on one of the roots of the trees, staring at the sky and leaning her back against the tree. She changed into everyday clothes, something I failed to do back home.

"Hey Xion!" I called out, walking over towards her. When she saw me her lips broke into a small smile and she waved.

I took a spot next to her on the tree, unstrapping the guitar slung over my shoulder and placing it beside me. "Are you feeling okay?" I asked, struggling to host small talk.

She continued looking at the sky and spoke in a soft tone. "I guess. It's hard to accept that both of your parents are dead."

"I see."

She took a deep breath and started talking again. "Aqua's going to take care of me until graduation, and then we'll be moving to the Land of Departure."

Crap! Ven was right!

"I'm sorry, Xion. I don't know what to say."

"I'm _glad_ you don't know what to say. People have been calling me all afternoon saying they understand what I'm going through, but they don't. They don't know what it's like to have your family gone." She turned her head towards me. "And you know what? Almost _all_ of my family is gone, too! My grandparents, maternal and paternal, are dead, my aunt and uncle are dead, and now my parents! I only have Aqua."

She's never talked about her grandparents, maybe because she's never had a conversation with them before since they died either when she was really young or she wasn't alive. I've heard of her aunt and uncle before; I've seen them in pictures.

"X-Xion…I've never knew…" I stammered, looking up at the sky. One cloud was shaped like a turtle. Turtles were Xion's favorite animal.

"No, it's okay. I'm glad you're actually telling the truth. A lot of people like lying these days."

_When we discover that the truth is already in us, we are all at once our original selves._

I said the exact same thing to Xion, and she laughed. "What's so funny?" I asked her moodily, starting to laugh myself.

"You actually sound like a real philosopher or something! It's hysterical!" She was doubled over in laughter and we both had ourselves a laugh fest.

I had totally forgotten about my song for Xion, but I didn't want to sing it. It sounded more like love song. A love song wouldn't really go over well with her, mainly because I think she likes Riku.

I knew another song she may like, though. It's short and sweet, plus it's in English. I've had an English tutor help me on how to speak the language so I could perform those types of songs.

While on my vacation to Radiant Garden a few years ago I met a guy named Bill who played the guitar. He showed me how to play the song, and he helped me with my English. It's called _Good Riddance_ by a band called Green Day.

I pulled out my guitar from its case and slung the strap over my shoulder. I snatched a pick from a small compartment in the case, stood up, and played the first few notes. Xion was startled since she didn't think I'd play a song.

_Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road_

_Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go_

_So make the best of this test, and don't ask why_

_It's not a question, but a lesson learned in time_

_It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right,_

_I hope you had the time of your life._

Xion had stood up too, swaying along with the music. I finished the song later on and Xion gave me a big applause.

"I didn't understand anything you were saying, but it sounded like a good message. And the melody was great too!" Xion chirped, then giving me a high-five.

"I'll miss you when you leave, Xion." I told her while I walked her back home.

"I'll miss you too, Roxas. Don't forget me, 'kay?" She gave me a playful wink and I smiled in response.

"Xion, even if someone happened to take my brain out of my head I'll still remember you." I told her, causing her to blush a bit, which made _me_ blush!

"It's not like I'm leaving _tomorrow_, silly! I'll be here for another three weeks, so don't you worry!"

We stopped on her front porch and she went back inside. I couldn't imagine living in a world without Xion; she'll always be by my side and I'll be by hers.

That what best friends were for, right?

* * *

"Graduation starts at 5:00, don't forget! Wear your gowns and your mortarboards!" Principal Marluxia told us all after graduation prep. I heard a snicker come from Hayner, who was beside me.

"What a dork, he calls graduation caps 'mortarboards' and he's 35 years old. Lame!" He chortled, covering his mouth to hold in laughter.

"Maybe the school board wanted him to say 'mortarboards' because he needed to be specific! Don't be so rude, Hayner!" Pence told him, punching him in the arm which made him yell, "OW!"

The whole eighth grade turned and glared at Hayner, who _happened_ to be next to me. A teacher supervising graduation prep pulled Hayner and Pence aside and dragged them to the office **(A/N: The way Dilan threw out Lea and Isa in the ending credits of BBS when they snuck into the castle thingy!)**.

Principal Marluxia finished giving ending comments and the final bell rang. It was the last day of school, June 1st. Everyone seemed to liven up more, after the incident with Xion. By then she told everyone she would be moving, and again, Kairi took it _way_ too seriously. Namine was very sympathetic towards Xion, but deep inside she probably felt complacent about the whole situation.

Perhaps.

I walked straight home with Ven so we could get ready, and I wondered what Xion was doing. Aqua came to the school to talk to the principal about school and how Xion wasn't going to enroll in the local (And only) high school, Xion told me. She walked home with Aqua to get ready.

Our graduation gowns were cobalt-blue, the color of my eyes. Even though we had preparation at school, Mom and Dad still advised us on formation and how you should accept your diploma, since _they_ had went to my middle school.

We drove to the school at 4:30, the time Principal Marluxia wanted us there at. Mom and Dad took a seat somewhere in the auditorium and I sat with a couple of other students in the folding chairs that were set up on the stage. My name, scrawled on a piece of parchment, had been taped to a seat. I sat next to a girl named Megumi Okawa, who was in my English class and who always seemed to suck up to me. Oh, great.

"Hi Roxas! Do you want to hear about my-"

Before she could say _anything_ annoying I told her, "No thank you Okawa. I'm a bit too nervous to talk right now." She looked hurt but she just gave me a smile and looked down at her uniform leather shoes.

At last, Xion came. She looked actually kind of cute in the gown and cap. Wait, why was I thinking this?

Her last name was Koizumi, and mine was Okabe, so she would be in the row behind me. To my luck her seat was placed directly behind mine. The only bad thing was that I couldn't talk to her because I already told Okawa I was too nervous to talk. Why am I so pathetically dumb?

Before Xion went to sit down I tried to strike up a conversation with Okawa so I could talk to Xion. I had to listen to her go on and on about the gerbil she'd get as a graduation gift. She talked so much that by the time she was finished Principal Marluxia started speaking at the podium! Talk about bad luck…

Principal Marluxia started talking to the audience about the history of the school and the importance of academics. After this Riku would give his commencement speech, then Xion would. We would receive diplomas, and the music club would be performing. We would turn the tassel on the left, throw up our caps, and go home to a graduation party. I already invited all of my friends to my graduation party I was having after the graduation, along with their parents: Namine, Sora, Riku, Kairi, Hayner, Pence, Olette, and of course Xion.

Riku went up to the podium after Principal Marluxia was done speaking. He gave a straightforward message on work ethic and determination the class of 2014 had. It was a basic message that could get through a person's skull easily, but I didn't feel very moved.

"Thank you, Mr. Shiname. You may take a seat." Announced Principal Marluxia after Riku finished his speech. "And now we will hear a word from Xion Koizumi." There was more applause, and I could hear the chair behind me scratch against the stage as the girl who sat on it stood up.

* * *

I walked up to the podium, my speech in hand. I was very short, at around 5'1, so I needed a stool to stand on at the podium. I adjusted the microphone and tapped it a bit, just to make sure it was on (Of course it was on! Principal Marluxia has just used it!). I placed my speech on the surface before me, and I addressed the audience.

"Another year has gone by, as we all know. A year of homework, forgetting your locker combination, and foul-smelling gym socks. As students of Lockhart Junior High, it is mandatory to maintain good grades and a healthy reputation. But, as we all ask ourselves, what will happen next year?

"Will you improve your grades, or perhaps join the wrong clique of people? Will you find your true love, or will you take a risk that will change your life forever? Whatever happens, high school will become the climax of your existence. It'll be the apex, or the culmination, or whatever you may call it.

"This year has been a roller coaster of emotions. As you may know, my parents have both died. I've had my first crush. I had one of the highest test scores. Next year, and the year after that, and throughout the years you will experience in high, you will cope with even larger challenges. You may succeed, or you may fail. One of us will commence another journey, one of us may follow the same road we have taking all our lives.

"The Class of 2014 will always share that certain bond; even if one of us moves away or happens to die, that bond will still subsist. We are family, and that connection will never be broken.

"We made it. We used every last bit of perseverance and willpower to make it to high school. Congratulations!"

The audience broke out into an unruly applause, my peers also clapping like nuts. After two minutes of boisterous clapping and cheering I went to my seat with my speech in my grasp. As I sat down Roxas leaned over and gave me a big thumbs up. I replied with a smile and turned my attention to Principal Marluxia, who announced that diplomas will be received.

Our Vice Principal, Dr. Xaldin **(A/N: Haha!) **handed out diplomas while Principal Marluxia shook the person's hand. The first to receive a diploma was Olette, whose last name was Abukara. In five minutes it reached the K's and I started to get antsy.

The graduation music made me want to cry badly, but after Mom's passing crying became overrated.

_The nurse was in the room the moment the cardiac monitor started beeping. She called in higher level doctors, and soon they had announced that Aya Koizumi was dead. The situation was so sad and demoralizing Xion couldn't even cry; ever since that day she had sworn off crying for good._

"Xion Koizumi." Exclaimed Principal Marluxia. I had completely forgotten I was next in line!

I walked up and received my diploma from Dr. Xaldin, while also receiving a formal handshake from Principal Marluxia. I stole a glance at the crowd, then my peers, then Aqua, who was seated up in front of the auditorium. The graduation music and the tears most of the audience shed were too much for me. I needed to let it out.

I let one tear roll down my cheek as I sauntered back to my seat.

* * *

"To the Class of 2014!" Roxas announced, holding a cup full of Coca Cola in the air.

"To the Class of 2014!" The rest of us shouted back simultaneously, holding up _our_ cups and replying to the toast.

Roxas invited me to a graduation party he was hosting. It was nice to just be around friends and family (The only family there being Aqua, but I counted my class as a family as well). Misako prepared yummy food while Takumi entertained the parents of the students that were there.

I had all of my stuff packed up for the move that would be the next Monday. I would be attending a school in the Land of Departure called Hilda Gray High School, and over the Summer Aqua would teach me how to speak English. Fluently.

It was going to be the summer of hell.

The only thing I really looked forward to was my birthday, which was on July 24th. I wouldn't have a birthday party (Because I wouldn't know anyone there!), but Aqua promised me she'd take me out somewhere special.

After food had been served I felt something slip into my jean pocket (I changed clothes when I got home; the graduation gown was really itchy). I felt inside there for a while and I fished out a scrap of parchment.

_Meet me in the backyard._

_-Roxas_

He didn't need to sign his name; I knew his handwriting _too_ well.

When no one was looking I slipped out the back door furtively, closing it gently. Roxas was in the middle of the yard, his hands behind his back and grinning from ear-to-ear.

"You're leaving tomorrow, so I was thinking of giving you an early birthday present _and_ something to remember me by." He told me, still giving me that annoying yet cute smile.

"Don't tell me you're giving me ice cream." I joked, giving him a nudge in the arm. Suddenly I heard a melodic noise, the sound a _guitar _would make…

"Roxas, you're giving me your-"

I was interrupted by Roxas who shoved the guitar in my hands. It was a Gibson Les Paul guitar, metallic black. I had no clue how to play a guitar, and if I were given a guitar I would probably give it back. This one was really valuable, given by my best friend. I couldn't _possibly_ give it back.

"H-how could you afford something like this?" I stuttered, examining it and running my fingers along the glossy surface of the guitar. I managed to save enough money to pay back Kairi, but I would _never_ have enough money to buy a Gibson Les Paul.

"Once I heard you were moving I decided to trade in my Stratocaster for a Les Paul. It was kind of rickety, but my dad and I managed to get it tuned up and polished. I can just stick with my acoustic for now." He gave me one of his to-die-for smiles, a smile that shows all of his pearly white teeth.

I was still in awe with the gift. "Does this count as my birthday present or something to remember me by?"

"Both, actually. I have something else you'd like, too." He pulled out something from his pants pocket. It was a popsicle stick with the words _WINNER_ carved on it.

"Huh? A popsicle stick?" I reached out to grab it.

"There's more to it, you see. If you trade this in you can get a free ice cream. I've had this for a while, I just didn't know the right time to give it to you."

Duckies Ice Cream Corporation was all around the world; maybe when I go to the Land of Departure I could trade it in.

"Let's go back inside. It's getting a bit chilly." Roxas announced abruptly, leading me back inside his house. "I have the case and the pick to the guitar in my room."

I nodded and gave him yet another smile. "Thanks Roxas. I appreciate it."

* * *

We still owned the house in Twilight Town; Aqua and I just won't live in it. We have Mom and Dad's inheritance, so we had enough money to pay for school and bills. Aqua has full custody of me, so she'll be the one to go to parent-teacher conferences and open houses. She'll be somewhat of my new mom.

The movers had gotten everything in the moving truck, and we would be flying out to the Land of Departure later that afternoon. Aqua and I were supposed to follow the truck to the airport, where we would be leaving for our eight-hour flight.

It was 9:00 in the morning when I slid into the passenger seat of Aqua's rental car. I said my goodbyes to my friends, who were all there. Kairi was crying hysterically, clutching onto Namine's arm for support. I was supposed to email her every day, even if she doesn't reply all the time.

The only person that wasn't there to say goodbye was Roxas. He _was_ a heavy sleeper; I couldn't blame him for not waking up at around seven o'clock.

The moving truck started to move, and Aqua then started the ignition. I stole a glance at the rear view window, and Kairi was still bawling. I turned back in my seat and gave the group a friendly wave. By that time the Aqua was already at the corner of the block.

"Xion! Wait!"

I looked through the rear view window to see Roxas on his bike, following us and pedaling super-fast.

I rolled down the window and yelled, "Roxas, what are you doing? You can get hit by a car in this kind of traffic!"

"I don't care! I didn't give you a proper goodbye, I'm really sorry!"

He looked exhausted and out of breath as he did his best to catch up with Aqua and I. I should've told Aqua to stop the car, but we needed to follow the movers.

"You don't to say sorry, you gave me your goodbye yesterday, didn't you? You shouldn't waste your breath!"

"I know that, I just wanted to see you one more time. Bye, Xion." He pedaled off the street on the sidewalk. Tears were rolling down his face and splattering on the pavement. I couldn't bear to see someone cry again; I just rolled up the window and closed my eyes.

Good riddance, Twilight Town.

* * *

**You guys must hate me now, don't you?**

**I know, I'm terrible. This story is very depressing and it will liven up next chapter, but you will be surprised next update! Mwuahahahahahaha!**

**Guest: You were happy you almost cried? Ha! Like what Xion said in this chapter, the bond between the Class of 2014 will never be broken (That includes Roxas!). No offense, but to me L is cuter than ANY guy, even Roxas! Sowwy Roxy, L will pwn you any day.**

**TheKHZeldaFinalFantasyGirl24: Your first review? Wow! Aya was pretty shattered after Haruka died; it was for the best, I guess. If my husband died (If I ever get married) I wouldn't **_**kill**_** myself, I just couldn't move on. That's why Aya said 'When you get divorced to your husband, you can move on. When your husband dies, you can't.'**

**AnimexLuver4Ever: EVERYONE CRIED! Wow…I wonder why…I updated ASAP, didn't I? I think this is the first time I updated two days in a row! Woohoo for me!**

**OmegaStarShooter14: If my mom died in front of me with a 'See you soon', I'd literally bawling on the spot. I would just keep crying for days, weeks or months maybe. It sucks so freakin' much!**

**Btw, the next chapter will be a year timeskip. A lots going to change, including the quality of the quality of the writing. Since it's in Xion's POV she's going to be 15, so she'll be smarter in some sort of way.**

**See ya next time, my beloved readers!**

**-XBluexMonarchX**


	10. Part Two

**Here it is, the chapter you've been waiting for! PART 2 OF THE EPIC TURNING TIDES!**

**Now, I will not explain anymore. You will have to read on to find out.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything listed in the story except for Hitomi Matsuya and Anna.**

* * *

_July 24__th__, 2014_

_Dear Xion,_

_Happy Birthday Xi-chan! 14 years of life and plenty more to go! I wanted to write you a normal, old-fashioned letter instead of email because it'd be a way to remember me. Everyone misses you, btw!_

_Have you met anyone yet? Do the people dress weird? I don't assume they wear Japanese Lolita, probably not. They may wear Harajuku, you never know. I don't think they understand J-fashion._

_There was this giant end-of-the-school year party that everyone went to, and at the end _everyone _passed out. I had a huge hangover and I had to pee every five seconds (Lovely, eh?). I had another make-out session with Sora, like at the Winter Break party. But instead of you walking in on us, Namine did. She was mortified, lol._

_I'm really tired of writing now, my hand is shaking. Did my package come in the mail? It has your present inside, and if you didn't look inside it I WILL NOT TELL YOU WHAT'S IN IT, MWUAHAHAHA! Anyway, happy birthday again! Yay!_

_Your BFF,_

_Kairi_

* * *

**PART TWO**

* * *

July 26th, 2015

"Nagisa, don't die! No!" I found myself crying and begging along with Tomoya, tears running down my face. A friend of mine, Anna, watched anime too, and she got me hooked on an anime called _Clannad. _The story was separated into two parts: the regular story and the after story. I was watching the after story, and the heroine Nagisa just gave birth to her baby Ushio with her husband Tomoya.

Apparently, Nagisa had a strange illness and she had to repeat her senior year of high school three times. However, she had the courage and determination to fight against it and achieve her goal in life.

She was my role model, even if she was fictional.

Nagisa could've died while giving birth, because of her illness. I sat cross-legged on Aqua's small sofa in the living room of our apartment, taking in the super sad scene from the anime. Tomoya was showing Nagisa their new child, Ushio, but Nagisa just wanted to close her eyes.

The tears were coming down harder.

She closed her eyes slowly, and her arms went limp. Tomoya caught her hand in time, but it was too late. She was dead. I swore to myself not to cry, but the anime just made me want to sob for days.

Aqua knew about the anime too; she watched it when she was a teen. She watched the scene with me, bawling and crying her eyes out. No matter how many times I watch the scene it'll always make me burst into tears.

Aqua cleaned herself off and ambled to our small kitchen to make dinner. I didn't want to see anymore of the anime; I would just cry again and I hated crying. I just decided to turn off the TV and hug a pillow lying on the sofa for support. That's what I usually did when I was sad, anyway.

I turned 15 two days earlier, and I completed my freshman year of high school, too. Life, like I said at the eighth grade graduation, was at its turning point. I let go of my smart-mouthed and hot-headed nature and became more of the shy Japanese girl who spoke English fluently (Yes, it was utter hell, but it was worth it. I finally learned how to speak English _fluently_ a week earlier.).

I liked my high school. I had a few friends, and I had people to sit with at lunch. It just didn't feel right, though. I'm used to my old friends: Kairi, Roxas, Namine, Olette, Sora, and Riku. Plus everyone had weird accents **(A/N: Australian)**, and even though I learned how to speak English I didn't have the same accent they had.

Aqua made really good food, almost better than my parent's cooking. That night she prepared hamburgers and fries (I learned how to get use to American food and silverware instead of chopsticks), topped off with homemade lemonade. I ate hamburgers in the Twilight Islands, but none of them were as good as Australian or American burgers!

The summer was a boring blah for me. I scribbled down my routine on a paper that I taped to my bedroom door.

Wake up at 10:30.

Take shower and put on clothes.

Eat breakfast.

Randomly skateboard around town.

Watch TV from 1:00 to 5:00.

Eat dinner.

Read and play my guitar.

Go to bed at 12:00.

Repeat cycle everyday of the summer.

Hey, don't blame me for being antisocial.

That day I was at number 8. I turned off the lights and tucked myself into bed, peacefully drifting off to sleep.

That was interrupted by Aqua's scream.

I bolted out of the bed and ran to Aqua's defense, only to find her in her room, holding a phone up to her ear. She clicked a button on her cell and turned to me.

"Pack your bags, Xion. We're moving back to Twilight Town."

I continued to stare at her in disbelief. _This can't be happening, omigod, omigod, omigod! _

"W-what f-f-for?"

She gave me a smirk and said simply, "_He's_ there."

* * *

Three days later we stood in front of my old home, the one-story stucco home with three bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen/dining room, and a bathroom.

Memories began to take over my mind. Bittersweet memories of my birthplace, my hometown. Memories of my parents and school and friends. I realized I had missed home more than I really did.

I still had my old house keys, so I unlocked the door. What I saw before me made me break out into a smile.

All of the living room furniture was still there, as well as the bathroom furniture, kitchen and bedrooms. The thing was, when I left with Aqua all I really packed were bed sheets, clothes, valuables, stuffed animals, and my keys. I used the furniture at Aqua's apartment for my everyday needs. (Speaking of Aqua's apartment, Aqua stills owns it. She's going to stay with me in Twilight Town until I graduate from college. She's going to use it as a second home.)

You see, to prevent burglars from stealing all of our stuff while we were gone, we set up hidden cameras in all of the rooms of the house. If the camera catches someone in the house without permission it'll start beeping loudly and it will contact the police department immediately. Also, we installed a high-tech security system at the front door. As you enter the house you will be asked what your name is. We installed all the names of people we know and _trust_, first name and surname.

For example, if you say 'Rie Tanaka', Aqua's friend, you'll be accepted and you can walk past the front door. However, if you say 'Minato Mikagawa', you will not be accepted and the security system will start beeping, alerting the police department. This makes the cameras useless, but we needed be safe.

I peered inside my bedroom. My bed was bare while the dresser was completely empty. I still had the cerulean blue walls (Of course) and the plus purple rug beside my bed, but other than that my room was barren.

The first thing I did was call Kairi. I had informed her of the move a day after I heard, and being the blabbermouth she is Kairi probably told everyone about me.

Great. I was lucky I didn't have a mob of kids outside my door.

Kairi came over ASAP, and together we got my room refurnished. We set up my iHome on the dresser, as well as a medley of beauty products. We spread the bed with my sheets and hung up clothes, and pretty soon we were done.

Kairi looked much different. She didn't have the same ear-length auburn hair anymore; it was down to her mid-back. She had grown taller, to about 5'2, but I was even taller, at about 5'4. She wore even girlier clothes, yet her girly personality toned down.

She wanted to show me new places in town, but I just wanted to settle in and play my guitar. Roxas and I video chatted and played the guitar together; he even taught me how to do chords. I wasn't as good as him, but I was pretty decent. Besides, I'm not good at a lot of things. Roxas himself managed to save up for a Les Paul, his being a light brown.

I decided to go with Kairi. I haven't seen her in person in a year anyways.

She showed me the old elementary school, which was renovated. There were new restaurants, boutiques, homes, even a nursery school! A lot changed in only a year.

She was about to show me our high school (Which Aqua agreed to enroll me in the next day) when the worst possible thing happened.

Namine was walking the same road as us, only she was walking towards town and not school. She was holding someone's hand. That person was Roxas.

Before they could see us Kairi pushed me into a nearby bush, her coming in with me. Okay, I still had feelings for Roxas, even if we were 8,000 miles away. Were they holding hands because they were…you-know-what and you-know-what?

Kairi answered my questions, and she told me something I didn't want to hear.

"Yes, t-they're dating…" She told me, stammering and looking down at the terrain we were sitting on.

"They a-are?"

"Yes…"

Why didn't anyone _tell_ me they were dating? Kairi emailed me every freaking day and she didn't mention Roxas and Namine's relationship! Why?

"How long have they been dating?" I asked her demandingly, clutching her shoulders and shaking them wildly.

"S-since spring break! Please don't hurt me!" She told me, and I loosened my grip on her shoulders.

At a moment like that I would've cried, but I told myself not to cry anymore. Instead I needed to take my anger out on something.

A tree.

When Namine and Roxas were out of earshot I picked a tree that was a few yards away from us. I began to kick it randomly, shouting out obscenities. I actually climbed up the tree, all the way up to the top. I shook the highest tree branch repetitively, leaves and twigs falling down and hitting the ground. I heard Kairi yell something at me from below, but from my shouting I couldn't hear a word she was saying.

Then I saw a bee fly in front of my face.

I realized I was shaking a branch that harbored a beehive! A swarm of bees began to chase after me, and I had nowhere to go. I could jump off the tree and land on the ground, but I could take a heavy blow.

I yelled out to Kairi to catch me when I jumped down. By then a bee had already stung my ear, and I cried out in agony.

Without thinking I jumped down. I didn't give Kairi the cue to catch me, and I would surely take the blow. I just wanted the moment to end. I squeezed my eyes shut and hoped for the worst.

I was feet away from the ground when I felt a hand on my back and one holding up my feet. I gingerly opened my eyes and looked up, only to see crystal blue eyes, a warm smile, and spikey blonde hair.

Roxas.

I shouted out his name and wrapped my arms around his neck, holding him tightly. He must've seen me on the tree from nearby and he ran to my rescue. Namine was by Kairi's side, and when she saw me with Roxas she sort of grit her teeth.

He let me go and I smiled back, mouthing the words, _I missed you_. He mouthed back, _I missed you too_ and, surprisingly, he embraced me. I blushed a little, but not too much for it to be evident.

I was released from the hug, and all four of us (Roxas, Kairi, Namine and I) walked back to our homes. It was refreshing just to see them again (Even if Roxas started dating Namine).

Wait, if Roxas is dating Namine, does that mean he…loves her? And not me? Shit, I knew it; I knew it all of this was coming.

Love was way too complicated for me to understand.

* * *

There were two more days left of summer vacation, and apparently there was going to be a party. I didn't feel like going, though; I wanted to use the last two days of summer for relaxing, playing guitar, and spending time with Aqua. I was already enrolled in Twilight High, and, yes, I was very excited.

The night before school started I stared intently at my ceiling fan. It moved in the same circular motion, round and round and round. It was annoying; I was waiting for it to move the other way around. I realized that the world was like this ceiling fan in some kind of way.

_Life_ was not like a ceiling fan, however. Sure, you go through life at the same pace: slow or fast. A ceiling fan keeps going, unless you stop it yourself. Life stops when it wants to.

A ceiling fan would be compared to suicide.

A ceiling fan reminded me of Mom.

* * *

"Here's the main hall!" Kairi exclaimed, introducing me to my new school. I already _was _introduced to my school with a tour. Oh well.

"There's Lea and Isa, the best friends. Lea is actually Principal Axel's younger brother." Kairi chirped, pointing to two boys, one with fiery red hair and the other with ice blue hair.

Principal Axel? The only teacher I met from the school was the Dean, Mr. Xigbar, unless Mr. Axel is…

"Kairi, you're not saying that Mr. Axel is the _principal_ of the school?"

She nodded like it was the most normal thing in the world.

Mr. Axel=Principal Axel=best day of my life.

"There's Hayner, Pence and Olette outside the gym, and there's Neku Sakuraba and Beat-he would likes to be called Beat. There's Fuu and Ventus-they hooked up last year-and there's-" She was interrupted by a girl with red flowing hair, tall brown boots, and a brown hat who called out, "HEY KAIRI!"

Kairi's face lit up when she saw the girl. "SHIKI! I MISSED YOU SOOOOOO MUCH!" She ran up to the girl and hugged her tightly. "Xion, this is my friend and fashion mentor Shiki Misaki. She knows EVERYTHING about style!"

Shiki released herself from Kairi's embrace and shook my hand. "Kairi's told me all about you! You're her best friend who has no fashion sense at all, am I right?"

Thanks a lot, Kairi.

"Uh, yeah, that's me, I guess…" I scratched my head awkwardly with my one free hand and tried to smile.

"Cool! So what classroom are you in?" Shiki asked me. The school system for the high school was different. There were different classrooms according to my grade and my letter. If I was C and I was in the 11th grade, I'd be 3-C. My letter in this case was B, so I was classroom 2-B.

Kairi was in 2-A (Awww…), but Shiki was with me in 2-B (*groans vexingly*). Classes started in two minutes, so I headed off to classroom 2-B to start school.

By the time we were seated the bell had already rang, and our teacher walked in the door.

I didn't know she'd be American.

She called herself Ms. Fuller **(A/N: THIS IS ME! MY NAME IS EVA FULLER IN REAL LIFE! WOOHOO! I MADE MYSELF AN OC!)**, and what really surprised me is that she could speak Japanese. She would be our homeroom teacher as well as our English teacher (I don't really need one). She had light brown skin with long, flowing black hair she wore in a ponytail. What really surprised me was her attire: she wore beige cargo caprice with an ebony brown T-Shirt.

This was her first year of teaching, she told us, then she complimented our school uniforms (The same uniforms from junior high), saying that the school uniforms from Radiant Garden were bland and drab.

You have to admit, they kind of are.

We went over the rules of the school from the handbook (It was mainly for new students, like me.) and she dismissed us for our next class. I remember being in a class with Ven, Shiki, Hayner, Isa, and handfuls of students whose names I failed to collect.

Lunch came rolling around soon enough. I sat with the people from junior high: Namine, Kairi, Riku, Sora, and Roxas. This year there were much more people.

For instance, there was the lovey-dovey couple Ven and Fuu, then the trio of Hayner, Pence and Olette. Everyone seemed like they knew the school like the back of their hand.

Or maybe it was because I was new. Sort of.

Lunch consisted of yummy sushi, laughter and fun overall. I didn't want it to end. But, I had English next, which would be very boring since I knew everything.

I became sick of the Namine/Roxas couple already. They've been rated as the best couple of the 10th grade, mainly because they're both blonde and they care about each other a lot. I wanted Roxas to care for me like he does with Namine.

But he loved Namine and didn't love me, and that was that.

I needed to move on. He was still my best friend; I just needed to get rid of any lingering feelings for him.

I walked to English, and while I was walking in the hall a colorful poster caught my eye. It was plastered on the wall, and on it read, _Do you love music? Are you a good drummer, bassist, pianist or guitarist? If so, join the light music club!_

The light music club…it sounded okay. Besides, I finally learned how to play an instrument, so I could join. On the flyer it said to meet in the music room afterschool at 3:05.

The rest of my classes were tolerable, and my main intentions of getting out of school were to join the light music club. I didn't have my Les Paul with me, but I didn't assume I needed it for the first day.

I entered the music room as soon as the final bell rang. Unfortunately, it was empty. _Oh well, I presume that students would come later_.

Five minutes later=no one.

Ten minutes later=still no one.

Thirty minutes later=still barren.

Frustrated, I stomped to the principal's office to have a chat with the secretary. She was sitting in her _stupid_ swively chair chatting away at her _stupid_ phone while scrawling something down on her _stupid_ notepad. She took notice of my presence and she gave me the hand.

She gave me the hand! How rude!

I waited for her to finish her call, and when she was she turned to me and asked, "What do you need?" She actually sounded polite, which made me forget all about her insolence.

"Um…there was a flyer saying that the light music club needed members and people who wanted to join should meet at the music room. I've waited for thirty minutes and no one has stepped up to join." I explained.

She stared at me for a while before she facepalmed. "Oh gee, the janitor forgot to take down that flyer over the summer. Honey, the light music club has disbanded. All of the members have graduated."

My hopes of joining an extracurricular club had shattered into tiny bite size pieces.

Before I could say something else I could hear the door to the office swing open, revealing a small girl with lilac-purple hair tied in a ponytail.

"MISS SECRETARY LADY!" The girl shouted, running past me and up to the secretary, now called 'Miss Secretary Lady'.

"Miss Secretary Lady! I went to the music room to join the light music club and there wasn't anyone there so I ran here and I came to tell you that I went to the music room to join the light music club and there wasn't-"

"Matsuya-san, calm down!" The secretary told her, patting her on the head. "The light music club is disbanded, and this young lady asked the same thing." She pointed to me, and the girl gave me a long stare. Her eyes were honestly beautiful; they were the color of her mauve hair. They were huge, too; two large purple orbs.

That girl was definitely a figure of moe.

"How about you two can establish the light music club again? Matsuya, you're a drummer, right?"

"Right!"

"So all you'll need is a pianist and a bassist. They won't be that hard to find, I'm sure a lot of people are willing to join." She gave a cheerful fist pump and smiled.

Those shattered pieces of hope managed to glue themselves together.

* * *

"Hitomi's your name, am I right?" I asked the girl while walking home. If we were going to re-establish the light music club we were going to need to get to know each other first.

"Yeah, Hitomi Matsuya!" She pumped her chest and smiled proudly. This girl was really confident and energetic. I really admired her.

"That name really fits you, you know. Hitomi means 'beautiful eyes' and I would _die_ to have purple eyes."

"Both my parents had purple eyes, actually. It's something that runs in our family." She stopped in her tracks and pointed at an ice cream stand. "Ice cream?"

"You bet! It's my treat, don't worry!"

We ended up sitting at the clock tower, licking our sea-salt ice cream. Apparently sea-salt is her favorite flavor, like mine.

I was walking her back to her house when she asked me what instrument I played.

"I'm a guitarist, and I'm kind of a singer too. I have a Gibson Les Paul." I told her proudly.

"Really? My brother has one, but he'll never let me touch it." We stopped in front of her house, which was a giant villa with a large porch.

"It was nice meeting you, Matsuya-san." I told her, shaking her hand.

"Oh, you don't have to call me by my last name. Just call me Hitomi." She smiled gleefully, a smile that could surpass Roxas' any day.

"Okay then. Hitomi?" I said, and she squealed.

"It sounds so cute when you say it!" That comment made me blush a tad. "Well, see ya!"

"Buh-bye!"

I waved goodbye and took the path home. If we could find more members, we could become the best band the school ever had!

When I got home I called Kairi to tell her about the music club and school. She was happy that I joined a club, and she said she was the Student Body president again. I called Roxas as well, and he had joined the regular music club for hard rock. He already had the members he needed, which kind of made me jealous.

We'll see which band is better, Roxas.

I went to sleep that night with a feeling of satisfaction. Even if my crush had been taken by my rival-in-love, I'll put my all into the light music club. I was the leader, and I'll make sure our band will be awesome!

I had a chance to rebuild my reputation!

* * *

**Was it a shocker to find out Roxas started going out with Namine? You guys could probably tell it was coming.**

**Ha, did you guys also like the K-On thing I did near the end? Xion is gonna be the next Yui, woohoo!**

**Btw, when Aqua said '**_**He's**_** there', I'll just say this: if you haven't figured out already, the one Aqua is trying to find is L from Death Note. In the prequel I'm making, **_**Dirt on the Fingerprints**_**, it'll explain more about their love, plus Aqua's role with the task force.**

**My answers to reviews:**

**OmegaStarShooter14: 'SO MUCH SADNESS' lol. I hope you think the chapter got happier. Yay for part 2!**

**Ractay14: No surprise visit for Xi-chan, but something even better happened! Too bad Roxas has to be a meanie and start going out with Namine. WHY ROXAS WHY?**

**TheKHZeldaFinalFantasyGirl24: If your heart died, you wouldn't be with us today! Jk! Thank you for the millionth time for the fanart! I really appreciated it, and as you see I used it for the cover of the story! YOU ARE UBER AWESOME!**

**AnimexLuver4Ever: I do like timeskips; as you see, it's a short one but it still adds to the drama! I **_**wanted**_** Roxas to confess, but it would be too early in the story, and I want this one to go one for a while, you see. I'm not saying Roxas loves her. Or he may. You have to read to find out if he loves Xion or not!**

**Guest: SADNESS IS EVERYWHERE! :'( This really **_**is**_** your fave RokuShi fanfic? How sweet! And you check on my story every time you're on the site? You're my fave reader now just for saying that!**

**Next chapter will focus on the light music club and new members, plus some dish on Namine and Roxas. See ya next time!**

**-XBluexMonarchX**


	11. ROCK OUT!

**Hello, readers! Welcome to yet another chapter of Turning Tides. I'm sorry about the late update; my wireless on my laptop started acting up and it took me a while to fix it. Before reading, make sure you have a bowl of buttery popcorn right by your side, and don't stay around too many onions when you are about to read a sad chapter.**

**Before we get started I would like to take some time to answer reviews to my readers:**

**OmegaStarShooter14****: O_O Nice language. ****An extra serving of Axel and Riku coming right up!**

**TheKHZeldaFinalFantasyGirl24****: You died again? I can't talk to you anymore, then! *bawls eyes out* Don't worry, I'll resurrect you! *brings back to life* There! And btw, do you think Aqua should've fell in love with Beyond Birthday? I don't exactly think they're compatible, but it could always work!**

**Tinge****: Hey, we **_**all**_** fail sometimes, do be down on yourself! I like my Hitomi OC better than myself, to be honest, because I wanted a character in the story that was full of life and spirit, besides Kairi and Shiki. **

**KeyToOblivion****: Now now, I never said Roxas actually **_**liked**_** Xion. He may have, he may have not. And you think I **_**am**_** a good author? Yay! *Pulls in for bear hug* I'm actually currently watching K-on, and I really fell in love with Mio and Ritsu's characters. In the band Xion leads I'm hoping to have someone like Mio in there, because Hitomi basically fills in Ritsu's place.**

**13NeverForget14****: That's what I thought. Yeah, that was kind of tacky of me to insert myself in there; I just wanted to liven things up. I don't think I can change her name completely, but I can make it so that her name is just a nickname. Then, maybe she could get married to one of the characters in the series so her surname wouldn't be 'Fuller', which is mine. Any open criticism is acceptable, mainly because it strengthens me as a writer.**

**Let's read!**

* * *

ROCK OUT!

The slam of the front door roused me, causing me to climb out of bed and see what was going on. As I peered through the window of the front door, I could see Aqua enter our rental car and speed off down the road. She seemed really withdrawn around that time. She wouldn't make breakfast or dinner; therefore she eats cereal and instant meals.

I wondered if it was because of the guy she was tracking down. She never gave me any information on him, but maybe that was because I never asked about him.

My heavy thinking made me accidentally pour my orange juice into my cereal that morning. I also happened to trip myself on the way to the shower, lather my hair in zit cream instead of shampoo, and put on my uniform shirt backwards.

And I haven't been diagnosed with ADD yet.

That day at school Hitomi and I planned on creating more flyers for the light music club. Flyers that were vivid and vibrant and _bursting _with color. Flyers that could catch a person off guard. We needed Namine.

At lunch I invited Hitomi to sit with my group of friends. Hitomi was probably more charismatic than Kairi, and by the end of the lunch period everyone sitting at our table became her friend. Even Fuu, the girl with silver hair and red eyes who probably hasn't said at least 10 words to anyone.

I soon found out Hitomi was actually a sophomore, like me, and she was in class 2-B. I guess she was the one student I didn't have a chance to meet with.

Afterschool we planned on meeting up with Namine to discuss flyers, but she was with the art club. I thought Namine had siblings to take care of…I guess her mother told her to loosen up a bit.

We ended up walking home with glum expressions, hunched over with our heads facing the ground. We needed members by the end of September so we could become an official club, but that would be extremely hard. Hitomi and I agreed on an all-girl band, but there weren't a lot of girls interested in music at our school. If only a bassist and a pianist could fall out the sky and join our club…

"Hey, wait!"

We lifted our heads and turned around to see Shiki running towards us, her arms thrashing against the air. When she caught up to us she bent over, trying to catch her breath. She raised her head, and a beaming smile took us off guard.

"You've been trying to find members for your music club, right?"

Cue the nods of two desperate girls.

"Well, a friend of mine would like to join! She's a bassist." Her smile widened as she put her hands on her hips.

"REALLY? HOW DID SHE FIND OUT? HOW, HOW, HOW, HOW?" Hitomi literally screamed her head off (Well, not exactly _literally_) and shook Shiki's shoulders like I did to Kairi when I found out Namine and Roxas were dating.

"With this." She pulled out a sheet of paper rolled underneath her cropped jacket and waved it in our faces. It was the old flyer from last year, the one I looked at to sign up.

I took it from her grip and examined it closely. It was definitely the flyer I saw; it had the exact same stain on the bottom left hand corner.

"I thought this was the old flyer…" Hitomi took it from me and eyed it closely. "Yup, this was the one I saw."

"Well then, you have a new member. Do you think you could meet up with her tomorrow morning?"

"Yeah, we're looking forward to it. Thanks!" We waved at Shiki who took her path back home.

One of the two gifts from Kingdom Hearts have already come.

* * *

"Hi there..." The bassist whispered softly, shifting her weight from side to side. Hitomi and I just gaped at her.

She was really tall, at 5'7. She reminded me of Risa Koizumi of Lovely complex, who was two inches taller than her. Otherwise, they were from different planets.

She was the shyest girl I've ever met, whereas Risa is potty-mouthed and aggressive. Despite her tall appearance she looked really fragile and weak, not to mention that she's abnormally skinny.

Shiki the social butterfly befriending this utterly unobtrusive girl. And I thought french fries dipped in ice cream was weird.

"Hi to you too. What's your name?" I asked her, keeping a polite and sensitive tone to my voice.

"Michiko Nishida. You can call me Michi." She actually gave us a half smile and scratched the back of her head.

"Okay then, _Michi. _You play the bass, correct?"

"Yes, I've played the bass all my life."

"You have? I learned how to play the guitar a year ago. Can you play something for us?"

She nodded and took her bass out of the case it was it. I didn't know much about basses, but Roxas taught me some things I needed to know. Basses typically had longer necks than a guitar, and it usually had more strings. Michiko had a six-stringed electric bass which she plugged into an amp, and she sounded really professional.

To help her get the feel of playing with other people Hitomi and I decided to take out _our_ instruments. I brought along my Les Paul and a drum set had already been set up. I plugged my guitar to the same amp Michiko used and Hitomi had her drumsticks hovering over the snare.

We decided to play a plain, simple melody. Hitomi started the beat, and soon Michiko and I joined in.

I loved the feel of the guitar in the hands. I play without the pick, leaving my fingers callused most of the time. Those calluses signify that I've worked hard, though, and I want people to know that just from looking at my fingers.

We were interrupted when the door to the music room swings open and Principal Axel steps inside.

All sorts of crazy thoughts start to take over my mind. Yes, I still had that little crush on Mr.-I mean, Principal Axel. I wondered if he thought our music was good…

He said the exact same thing.

"Oh, um…" I blushed profusely and looked down at my guitar, which I decorated with stickers while I was in the Land of Departure.

"Why thank you, Principal Axel." I was surprised to hear Michiko speak up, right in front of the principal! I'm astounded I didn't faint when he spoke to me in general.

"You're welcome, Nishida-san. At this rate you could fully re-establish your club, even with three members." He gave us a captivating smile Prince Charming couldn't pull off.

Our eyes widened at the news. "How did you know we were trying to re-establish the light music club?" I asked him, putting my guitar in its case and signaling him to sit at the table, along with Hitomi and Michiko.

"Mrs. Ayato **(A/N: 'Miss Secretary Lady')** told me two girls were trying to build up the light music club. If you guys need any help I'm always here."

My pupils dilated even more when I heard this. "You'd really help us? Thank you!" I leaned over to shake his hand, and once I stood up I high-fived with Hitomi and Michiko. If the principal helps us, we can have concerts and play at school dances. We'd be _awesome_.

Principal Axel left and we played a little bit more. Soon we headed to our classes (We learned that Michiko was in class 2-D), and at lunch I invited Michiko to sit with us.

Michiko got along well with Namine and Fuu, the quiet and shy ones, while Hitomi got along well with Kairi and Shiki (She sits with us now), the loud and appealing ones. Roxas was deep in a conversation with Sora and Ventus discussing video games, and Riku was eating his rice balls alone, without anyone to talk to.

Being the nice and caring person I am, I scooted next to Riku casually. He didn't take the slightest notice of me, and he kept eating his food quietly, yet the blush on his face was evident.

"Hi Riku!" I chirped, lathering my tone of voice with enthusiasm. Riku lifted his head from his tray and looked me in the eye. Over the year Riku had changed a lot. He was much muscular, and his shiny and glossy silver hair was longer, some covering his eyes.

He was even sexier than from last year.

"Hey Xion...my dad packed too many rice balls for my lunch. Would you...like to share some with me?" He asked me, and a blush redder than Riku's spread across my face. What was funny, though, was that Riku's dad still packed lunch for him.

"Um…sure. You know what, let's share lunch."

"Sounds good."

We ended up splitting our lunches. He had a packed lunch, and I had ordered hot lunch. I split my hot dog in half, and we both had six of the twelve rice balls he packed. The rest of the table looked at us like we were aliens, but we didn't care. We were bored, and we wanted to spice up our lunch a bit.

The rest of the day went by fairly quickly. Since we had a meeting in the morning the music club didn't meet that afternoon. Instead, Hitomi, Michiko and I walked back to my house together. They were really cool, to be honest.

Hitomi's father was the president of a music company **(A/N: Like Tsumugi!)**, and she was _really_ rich. She went to the junior high alternative, Twilight Private, and you could only get in if you were rich or you were really good in something and you had a scholarship. She said she was on a scholarship for basketball.

"I'm planning on trying out for the basketball team later this year." She told us while walking home. "I was the captain of the basketball team in junior high, but I didn't get accepted last year."

"Why? You said you were really good." Michiko asked her.

"I'm _short_, that's why. They definitely would've accepted someone like you, Michi."

"But I'm not good at basketball!"

"But you're _tall_!"

They were going to bicker a lot that year.

Michiko had moved to town last year, and she went to a prestigious junior high for the gifted where she lived. She got a scholarship in music, and she played the bass with her old band.

"Our band's name was 'The Remarkables'." She told us proudly when we reached my house (Aqua was off somewhere, of course).

"That sounds stupid. I hope you don't name our band that, Xion." Hitomi told her without caring about how mean it sounds.

"That's rude, Hitomi, I think that name is okay. Not the best, but okay." I gave Michiko a warm smile and I gave Hitomi a murderous glare.

Our band did have a few flaws. Hitomi could become rude and cynical and Michiko could become a bit too shy to perform in front of other people, even if she were in a band in the past.

I'm sure we could get past them though.

* * *

By the end of September we still didn't have that last member we needed; a pianist.

If we didn't have the right amount of members for our club by the first day of October, we'll have to be disbanded for good. Principal Axel says he talked with the school board about being one member short of a club and still having an official club.

At one club meeting he popped in on us and told us the news. We sat at the table we like to eat snacks at, and Michiko brought her tea set and made tea for us. **(A/N: I'm making a lot of comparisons to Tsumugi, aren't I?)**

"I'm sorry girls, but in order to have an official club you need to have the minimum amount of members the club allows. Rules are rules, kids." He told us with a hint of gloom in his voice.

Hitomi's pupils dilated and she stood up from where she was sitting, knocking over her cup of tea, which she plainly ignored.

"That's not right!" She yelled at him, the spilled tea pouring over the table and onto her uniform, which she ignored as well. "Nirvana had three members and _they_ still went on tours and concerts! They were still a band! Why can't they just let us be a three person band?"

Principal Axel sighed while Michiko and I cleaned up Hitomi's mess. "Look, Miss Matsuya, I don't find the rule very impartial either, but whatever the school board says, I have to obey." He stood up from where he was sitting and walked towards the door. "You better find that last member."

The door slammed shut, leaving the three of us to ponder.

* * *

September 29th, 2015

The day finally came. It was a day entirely of luck, nothing but luck.

It started out a normal day. I walked with Kairi and Hitomi to school, listening in on their conversation from time-to-time. I was more interested in what would happen at school the next day, or that day itself.

The anxiety wore me down throughout the school day. In classes I barely raised my hand to answer a question, nor did I speak with anyone. At lunch I sat at my usual spot, occasionally shoving a spoonful of rice into my mouth. Roxas asked what was wrong, but I just waved him off and slurped my juice.

My afternoon classes were a pain in the ass, and when the final bell rang I anticipated the worst.

Hitomi and Michiko were as morose and blue as me, and we all took a seat at the table and sighed in unison. Michiko had brought along her tea set, with deserts and cookies to go with it. If we got another member we could always persuade them to join our club with delicious treats…

We stuffed our faces and then we went back to our sulking. We barely even touched our instruments, except for when Michiko reached for her bass to hold, and she stopped abruptly.

Just when we were about to pack up and leave, the door swung open slowly, and a girl with ear-length dark green hair stepped inside.

Our faces lit up and we all ran towards the girl, knocking over a few chairs in the process. There was something on her back, but we couldn't exactly make it out.

She seemed startled by our approach and took a step back. "Uhh…is this the right club?"

"Of course! Are you willing to join the light music club?" Hitomi asked her, and Michiko punched her in the arm, mouthing _don't force her to join_.

"Yes. I was looking all afternoon for the room." She smiled gleefully and we led her to the table. It was soon evident that on her back was a guitar case.

Uh-oh…

As soon as we got settled Michiko re-poured the tea and Hitomi and I started to strike up a conversation with the girl.

"What's your name?" I asked her. She was awfully bubbly; I could tell from her appearance.

"Sayaka Minamoto."

Michiko finished pouring my tea and looked up at her. "Like Sayaka from Puella Magi Madoka Magica?"

She nodded and chirped, "Yup!"

"Cool. Sayaka's my favorite Puella Magi." Hitomi added in, and afterwards dominating the conversation.

"So what grade are you in?"

"9th grade, freshman. I'm not very used to this school."

"Okay then…what instrument do you play?"

Sayaka's case gave Hitomi the answer.

Sayaka didn't play the piano; she played the_ guitar_. I guess when Namine was making the flyer she put down, _Are you a pianist, bassist, or guitarist?_

Sayaka's guitar was a Fender Telecaster, a guitar Roxas said he wanted when he was ten. He told me a lot about it: it was really useful in country and rock, as well as blues and jazz music. I've looked at pictures of them on Google and I'm not particularly fond of telecasters.

"Uh, Sayaka…" I started, but I didn't want hurt her feelings. Besides, she was a freshman, and all freshmen _had_ to join at least one club.

"Sayaka, we don't need another guitarist. We need a pianist." Hitomi told her straightly. Her tone of voice was solemn and grave, a tone of voice I've never heard from her.

"So…you don't need me?" Sayaka's eyes started to water, and soon enough she started bawling uncontrollably. Michiko ran up to her and started telling her it was okay, but Hitomi stood exactly where she was, crossing her arms and giving Sayaka that really unsympathetic look.

"Hitomi, don't say things like that!" I told her squarely. I wasn't gonna let Hitomi hurt a poor freshman's feelings like that. "I think we don't need a pianist, another guitarist would be amazing." I turned towards Sayaka, and she was wiping her eyes.

"Sayaka, if you can play something for us, and we like it, you're the second guitar player for the club." By then Sayaka's tears ceased completely and she hugged me tight, to the point where I bet my face turned a deep shade of blue.

We all sat on the floor and waited while Sayaka got set up her guitar. Hitomi sat cross-legged and kept her prissy attitude. I took notice of this (I think everyone took notice of this) and I whispered to her, "Just give her a chance." I received a groan and a scowl.

Once she hooked up her guitar with the amp she put her pick close to a string and started to play. She was decent; not excellent, but good enough for us to accept her into the band!

"Welcome, Minamoto-san. Welcome to the club!" I shook her hand excitedly, and I pulled everyone in for a giant group hug. Even the snippy Hitomi complied, and she apologized to everyone for how she acted. We forgave her quickly, but I could tell our minds were focused on one thing:

We were a band! We just needed a name…

* * *

October 9th, 2015

It was a normal Friday school day. A school day complete with boring assignments, practicing with my band (We eventually named it 'Replica Rapture'. **A/N: See what I did there? **_**Replica**_**? Hehe…)**, and enduring the sickening fluffiness of Roxas and Namine.

Turns out their relationship wasn't so fluffy.

It all started when I got home from band practice that day. I planned on playing the most recent _Last Reverie _game **(A/N: I made a knock-off of Final Fantasy, teehee) **that I got earlier that week. I first decided to take a hot bath, and then start my lovely video game.

My first interruption was from Aqua, who came in at 6:00, like she usually does. Actually, I can't say it was an interruption, because I was the one who interrupted _her_.

Aqua plopped next to me on the couch and started watching me play the game, and I couldn't help but ask her who the guy she was following was.

It was the wrong question at the wrong time, and I blamed myself for having the question pop into my head randomly. I just wanted to know for myself, and besides, I need to know who Aqua has a crush on.

I paused the game and asked her exactly what I was thinking at the time. She didn't seem too shocked, and she threw her head back and chuckled a little.

"You mean L-I mean, Ryuga? I knew him a while back, and we were somewhat of…partners. Truth be told, I have a slightest crush on him." She blushed a bit and shifted her weight.

A smile formed on my lips and I nudged her. "Aqua…you don't have a _slight_ crush on him, I know it."

The blush on Aqua's face enlarged and she adopted a pouty look. "Maybe I do, maybe I don't, and it's not of your business anyway."

"Okay then…I'll ask you something else. Why didn't you go to university?"

The blush on her face subsided and she looked down at her feet. "That's not the best topic to talk about right now. It's…humiliating." She stood up from the couch and sauntered off to the kitchen. "I'll make dinner tonight. I haven't in a while."

I felt guilty; I didn't know it was _that_ of a sensitive topic. Maybe Aqua didn't pass her Entrance Exams. No, Aqua's really smart. In fact, our whole _family_ happens to be strong academically. It's a gift.

The second interruption was from Roxas at 10:30. By then I was wrapping up my game and I planned on getting ready for bed and reading myself to sleep. I took my shower, and as if it was on cue as soon as I stepped out my cell phone rang. I was super wet, so I quickly dried off my hands before touching my phone.

Roxas was on the line, and from the tone of his voice he sounded…stressed. He told me that he and Namine had planned a romantic evening that Friday (I can't believe he was telling me this…bleh), and Roxas made dinner and they cuddled up with a movie rented on DVD at his house. His parents were out of town and he hasn't done something with Namine alone.

He then told me, whispering in a soft voice, that Namine has been implying that they have sex.

It was appalling just to hear. We took sex education in the fifth grade, and afterwards Roxas and I promised each other we wouldn't do it until we were married. Roxas always kept a promise, and he wasn't going to break it there.

But what if Roxas _did_ want to lose his virginity with Namine?

That meant Roxas had to propose to her, then get married to her, and _then_ they could do…you know. I felt queasy inside just for thinking of that. I told myself not to like Roxas like that anymore, but I still have some lingering feelings I have to do away with.

Roxas said that he was in his bathroom on the second floor of house, and Namine was on the first floor so she couldn't hear our conversation. He also said he called me because I was a girl myself and I understood them better than he did.

"Okay, Roxas, you should just tell her you're not ready." I told him, also lowering my voice so Aqua couldn't hear either. It's awkward when your cousin is listening in on your conversation with your boy best friend who's having, well, _sexual _problems with his girlfriend.

"I did, but she really wants to and I don't want to let her down. At the same time I don't want to let you down, too." He sighed through the phone, and by that time I heard a muffled female voice yell, "Roxas!"

"Sorry, Xion, I gotta go. I'll text you, okay?"

"That's fine. See ya." I clicked the 'End Call' button and sighed myself.

That's when I realized I talked to Roxas on the phone while I was naked.

I obscured a scream and blushed copiously, while searching for the pajamas I took in the bathroom with me. Why did he have to call me after I get out the shower? _Why_?

I guess I air dried while I was talking to Roxas, because I was completely dry by the end of that call. Once my night clothes were on I slipped out of the bathroom and climbed into bed. The book I was reading at the time, a Japanese translate of _To Kill a Mockingbird_, was placed on my nightstand, and I reached for it and began reading from where I left off.

Even while reading an extremely intriguing book my mind couldn't get rid of Roxas and Namine. I couldn't stop Roxas from enjoying his life and taking the bold move, but I didn't want him to lose his virginity with Namine.

I'd actually like Roxas to lose his virginity with anyone other than Namine.

My thoughts eventually took over my mind, and I reluctantly placed my book back on my nightstand. Once I turned off the lights I shut my eyes and tried to go to sleep.

I ended up spending that night staring at ceiling fan again.

* * *

**Hmmm…I thought this chapter was a little boring. What do you think?**

**Okay, Riku is going to play a bigger role in this story soon. Next chapter will also be a concert chapter. And do you think the band name 'Replica Rapture' sound okay? It basically means 'Fake Paradise' and it makes it sound kind of…emo. But I find it good, I guess!**

**Also, about Aqua and university...it'll be explained more in_Dirt on the Fingerprints_. Stay tuned for much, much more!**

**Sayonara!**

**-XBluexMonarchX**


	12. So Many Burdens

**I'M SO, SO, SO, SO, SO, SO, SO, SO, SO, SO, SO, SO, SO, SO, SO, SO, SO, SO-**

***Three hours later***

**SO, SO, SO SORRY I HAVEN'T UPDATED IN SUCH A LONG TIME! I've been caught up in summer camp, as well as some family issues, and I haven't touched my laptop in ages! Please forgive me!**

**A new, exciting chapter is here! Yippee!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Purple Haze by Jimi Hendrix, Black Rock Shooter by Hatsune Miku, or any other songs mentioned in this story, with the exception of a written song by me. I also do not own Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy (I haven't said this in a while-I guess got tired of it!)**

* * *

So Many Burdens…

October 10th, 2015

"I have the news, Xion."

"Wait; don't tell me you went for it! You promised me, remember!"

"Yeah, yeah, Xion, I remember it _very _well. I'm still a virgin, just to let you know."

I began to relax and I flopped back on my bed, my cell pressed against my ear. He told me everything that happened; when Roxas hung up after our conversation that night he went downstairs where Namine was, and she kissed him. They started to make out a bit, and soon…well, you could say they attempted to make love.

Roxas told me he stopped halfway because he remembered our promise, and he abruptly went to sleep, which pretty much pissed off Namine. Namine didn't spend the night after that. She left his house, and he said he got a text from her that morning saying she was sorry for how she acted.

Yeah right.

The weird thing was, Roxas was actually _telling_ me this. Not the details of what happened (Mega-nasty) but…well, that he thought of me while they were doing you-know-what. That's super disgusting!

I woke up that morning with the call from Roxas, and then I started out my Sunday like I never talked to Roxas at all. Aqua and I went to the bookstore; she needed to buy a few recipes and I wanted to buy a book on guitars. I took some time to listen to some CDs so I could listen to how they play.

I first picked up a Jimi Hendrix CD. Roxas told me he was his role model, even if he used drugs and died from them. I didn't know him as well as Roxas did, but I did know he was one of the greatest guitarists of all time.

I put on my headphones and pressed the play button. He was American, so he sung in English. My time in the Land of Departure prepared me for times like this.

'_Scuse me, while I kiss this guy…_

Wait…wha? That'd never be a lyric to a Hendrix song! He wasn't…gay, was he?

I must've misunderstood it, because after replaying that lyric billions of times I realized he was really saying, _'Scuse me, while I kiss the sky…_ I guess if our band had a song we couldn't have misheard lyrics in it.

A song! We had been together for almost a month and we hadn't created a song! To top it off, a school festival was on November 11th, exactly a month and a day from then.

Who would sing, though? Hitomi was a gifted singer, but she told us once she couldn't sing and play the drums simultaneously. Michiko and Sayaka never really liked singing and they couldn't sing themselves, so that only left me.

I sung a few songs with my hairbrush in front of the mirror before, but I've never performed in front of a crowd of people. I didn't even have any experience after watching _other_ people perform. Sure, I've seen concerts on TV before, but the only concert I've attended was a Girls Generation one with Kairi and her dad when I was 12, and they weren't even a band **(A/N: Count Girls Generation as a Girls Group)**! The only experience I got there was for arguing, after winning a quarrel with Kairi over who was the best Girls Generation member. **(AN: SUNNY FTW!)**

I spent the rest of Saturday and Sunday pondering what kind of lyrics I should use for a song. I thought of different themes for a song.

Partying? Never.

Saving the world? Maybe.

Self encouragement? That'd be nice.

Love? Perfect.

I didn't know how to write a love song though. Plus, it'd just remind me of Roxas, and he was already with Namine. That wouldn't go over well with her. I did like the self encouragement theme, nonetheless. I'd been through a lot those two years, and I think I needed some support.

* * *

"I think a love song would be a bit sentimental, don't you think?" Sayaka asked Michiko and I at our club meeting on Monday. Hitomi said she couldn't make it that day, so we just continued without her and started writing our song.

"That's exactly what I thought," I told her, "But we could write a song about getting through and encouragement!"

I was surprised to see Sayaka and Michiko shake their heads. Sayaka spoke up. "I think that's kind of tedious and dull. Let's just listen to a few songs before we write one."

I reluctantly agreed with her, and she walked over to her rucksack, sitting in the corner. She bent down and unzipped it, taking out a few things. When she came back up she held a medley of CDs, and Michiko and I stared at them in awe.

"I have lots of CDs, but I keep some in my backpack just in case I need to share some." She told us, smiling and showing off her music. I recognized every one of them. She had the _Deep River _and _Heart Station _albums by Utada, the _Supercell_ album by Hatsune Miku, and some albums by American singers and bands like Beyonce and Linkin Park.

She found a nearby CD player and she put in the _Supercell _album first. She skipped to Black Rock Shooter, and instead of listening to the lyrics we ended up jamming out. We had to replay it about five times so we could actually pay attention to the lyrics.

_How much longer must I keep shouting?_

_How much longer must I keep crying?_

_No more, I can't run anymore,_

_The dream world I once saw is shutting down,_

_It's so dark with no light to be seen._

_Along this crumbled beaten road,_

_I felt I saw something that shouldn't be here,_

_A ray of hope._

Maybe those lyrics were a bit too powerful and…um…desolate. We listened to World is Mine and Love is War, which we thought were a tad powerful, even if World is Mine had somewhat childish lyrics). We gave up on _Supercell_ and tried more. We all loved Utada, and it was the same case with Black Rock Shooter; we couldn't pay attention to the lyrics. We tried CD after CD, but we never found lyrics we could relate to.

But then Hitomi swung open the door to the music room.

She was clad in faded jeans with plain blue T-Shirt, a chain dangling from the side of her pants. Her hair was slicked back in her customary ponytail, a ball cap snug on her head. Truth be told, I don't think I ever saw her without her uniform.

"Hitomi, I thought you needed to do something-"

Hitomi interrupted her and took out a few objects from her rucksack. "I heard you guys were trying to write a song, so I ditched the errands and decided I'd help you guys. Besides, if we _are_ a light music club, we're gonna need to listen to previous music club members."

She pulled out her phone from her jeans and tapped it a few times. Apparently it was a video she took on her phone of the last light music club's concert. They didn't have a pianist, like us, and instead they had a rhythm guitarist. They seemed more of a rock band, but it wasn't death metal or rock and roll. It wasn't exactly emo-rock either. It was the kind of band you could definitely relate to.

After the video was over Michiko, Sayaka and I actually clapped. The lead guitarist knew her stuff; she did a lot of guitar tricks Roxas probably couldn't pull off. I think Michiko took notice of my astonishment, because she told me how the guitarist did what she did.

"Firstly, she knows how to _choke_." Michiko told me, holding her bass upright and plucking two strings at once.

"Choke? Like choking a person?" I asked, clueless as usual.

"No, silly, it's what I'm doing now. You just bend these two strings, any string you want, and you get that noise." She did as she said and urged me to do it as well with my guitar.

I plucked two chords on the guitar, and Michiko clapped. "That was perfect! There's something else I want to show you."

She then took my guitar and plugged it into an amp. She held it upright, then started to play something I've only seen in concerts. It was fast and furious, and it made Michiko's shy and gentle demeanor turn into a more fierce and fiery one. Her hands were in swift motion with the guitar, strumming chords ferociously. By the time she was done Hitomi, Sayaka and I all just stared at her.

"What? I was only shredding." She turned down the volume on the amp and unplugged the guitar (Something I forget to do most of the time), giving it back to me.

"Michiko…I never knew you played guitar." Hitomi spoke up. "You would make a much better guitarist than Xion!"

Michiko and I sent her death glares.

"I used to be the lead guitarist in my band at my old junior high, but at one concert I made a huge mistake." She sighed heavily and took a seat at the table. The rest of us did the same.

"Whenever we were in concerts I stood beside the lead vocalist, so I was always in front. During the middle of one song I strummed the wrong chords, and it set the whole band off. One tiny slip-up could cause a chain reaction. I never wanted to play guitar in front of a crowd ever again, so I converted to the bass and played for a couple of more weeks, until the band broke up. You guys are lucky I joined your band, because…" Tears started to well up in her eyes.

"Because after our band broke up I promised myself I'd never join a band, ever again. I believed that the members of this club had bright potential, and I was right. I want to stay in this club for good!"

There was a long silence after Michiko's sob story. Hitomi, once again, spoke up.

"Okay then, since we're done listening to Michiko's swan song, let's get working on _our_ song." She pulled out a notebook and a pen from her rucksack and placed it on the table, signaling us to start writing.

After a long hour of brainstorming and ink we finally came up with a song. Sayaka planned on taking the notebook home and typing up the song, printing out the lyrics and giving them to us the next day. We would work on the flow and the melody the day after.

_I never could understand_

_Your selfish ways._

_It was like you were the predator,_

_And I was the prey._

_I always wondered how you could love_

_In that icebox you call a heart._

_But now it feels different,_

_Since we split apart._

(Chorus)

_I've been liberated from a curse,_

_A never-ending nightmare._

_I'm glad it's over,_

_Our disastrous affair._

_It's emancipation_

_From an everlasting burden._

_I'm glad it's over,_

_Our disastrous affair._

That's how the song goes so far. We titled it 'Our Disastrous Affair', and we were pretty impressed by how it went. I wanted to base this off of Roxas and me's relationship, but it wasn't _that_ rocky. Sayaka told us she had a poor relationship with some boy, and she found out he cheated on her. I guess we based the song after her, I guess.

We all parted ways that day, and surprisingly I caught up with Kairi, who was walking home from Olette's house. She adopted a gloomy look on her face and ignored me. I had to wave her down a couple of times just to have her look at me.

I gave her a simple 'Hi' and we walked down the road, Kairi looking down at her feet the whole time. She was distressed about something, anyone could tell.

When we reached her house we stood in silence. I wanted to know what was wrong, so I just asked her.

She hesitated before she answered me, and when she looked up she looked infuriated.

"Oh, I never knew you were interested in my well-being, since you prefer your bandmates more than me." She snarled, dropping her rucksack on the pavement.

"Wait, wha?"

"You know what I mean. You've been spending everyday with your fucking bandmates that you never had the time to even _talk _to me. You've been so enamored with the music world that you _never_ wanted to involve me in anything!" By then she was yelling at the top of her lungs, which I've never seen from Kairi before.

"Kairi, you're overreacting. I talk to you at lunch all the time!"

"_Barely_. You talk to, _and_ hang out, with everyone except me and I'm sick of it." She turned away from me and walked towards her front door.

"And just to let you know, I have AIDS."

The door slammed shut with a loud thud.

* * *

October 15th, 2015

The next few days Kairi didn't even look at me. She sat at a separate lunch table from mine and ate alone in silence. She was being a drama queen. I talked to her plenty!

The only thing that worried me was that she was sick. I actually confronted Sora in the hall and questioned him, asking him if he gave Kairi AIDS. He was clueless, as usual.

I wanted to talk to Aqua about it, but she's never around for me to talk to. I feel that the school should do something, but I had the instinct they were going to give the same answer Sora gave me. Her father probably already knew.

That left one person to confide in, Roxas. Unfortunately he was with Namine, and I needed someone to talk to at that moment. For some reason I had the feeling there was something else I could talk to…

Riku!

I instantaneously called him and held my breath, hoping he'd answer. He did, right on the third ring.

I told him about Kairi and the band, and how everything was starting to gradually fall apart. He was a keen listener; it was like I could hear him nodding through the phone. By the time I was done with my rant there was a silence on the other end of the phone, causing me to panic a bit.

Finally I heard his voice. "Kairi's probably making it up just for you to grovel at her feet. She's only doing it for attention. Trust me, Xion, I've known her for a long time."

"You're right…but what if she _is _sick?"

I could hear him sigh lightly. "I'm almost positive this isn't real. If it were, she'd be in the hospital right now."

Soon it all started to make sense to me. Maybe I hadn't conversed with her very much, and I was hanging out with my band members more often then I did with her.

Most importantly, how would she be able to forgive me so easily?

* * *

November 5th, 2015

**(Note: The Japanese do not celebrate Halloween. Halloween is just the eve of Hallo day, the celebration of all saints, and most Japanese are Shinto.)**

It's been weeks since my fight with Kairi. I didn't have the nerve to say sorry, nonetheless talk to her. She keeps ignoring me, and that's a major hindrance in my plans.

Replica Rapture (AKA R.R) has been doing great, but with the Kairi situation weighing me down, it feels like my guitar playing hasn't been doing very well. I even asked Michiko if she could fill in my lead guitar role at the school festival concert, but she was still too shy to perform, leaving me with the lead guitar role.

The band ultimately decided I'd be the lead singer, and Hitomi prepped me for singing in front of an audience. We all practiced together with our song, and I was certain we'd rock the socks off the students at the school festival!

We even let Roxas' band look over our song lyrics, and they really like them as well. It seems like everything is going smoothly, except for the Kairi situation. I'm so used to catastrophic events in my life that it feels peculiar to have things go nicely.

That all changed that afternoon.

Our band was sure we were ready for the festival, so we marched on to the Principal's Office to confirm our performance. We were greeted by Mrs. Ayato, and we discussed our confirmation. She told us we needed an advisor to perform.

An…advisor? WE NEEDED AN ADVISOR!

Sayaka looked like she was about to cry, Michiko just turned on her shocked appearance, and Hitomi was prepared to yell at me.

Before Hitomi could perform her famous yelling act Mrs. Ayato spoke up.

"Listen girls, there is still time for you to find an advisor, yet I'm certain there won't be a lot of teachers in the school left to pick…"

Suddenly Sayaka's face lit up. "How about _you_ be our advisor! You're so nice and kind and-"

"I'm sorry, but I'm already the advisor for the cooking club."

Sayaka whimpered and looked down at the floor.

"Did anyone need an advisor?"

All of us looked around for the speaker, who happened to be Principal Axel. He had already stepped into the room, harboring that cute smile I adore.

"P-principal Axel, y-you'd like t-to be our a-a-advisor?!" Hitomi stuttered.

"Well, yes, I would like to be an advisor of _any_ club. I'm surprised no one had asked me before."

"But I thought principals aren't allowed to be advisors!" Sayaka exclaimed. "I read the handbook, it stated it clearly in rule 207!" **(A/N: Man, that's a lot of rules. I'm surprised they're allowed to eat snacks in their club room.)**

"Crap, we must've given you guys the old handbooks. That was an old rule. We passed it about a year ago."

We managed to get Principal Axel as our advisor, then we confirmed our performance in the school festival. The entire process went swimmingly. Everything keeps turning out right.

It's like I want something to go wrong.

* * *

November 11th. 2015

It was the day of the festival, and everyone woke up early that Saturday just to get to the school. The day before Riku asked me to accompany him to the festival, and I happily agreed. Riku's become a good friend to me; he gives the best advice and we have the same personalities.

The festival wasn't a very formal occasion, plus we didn't have to wear our uniforms. I wore a blue T-Shirt which read R.R in black letters (We made T-Shirts for our concert) and black faded jeans, along with the Thalassa shell bracelet Kairi and I exchanged when we were kids. It signified our everlasting relationship, Kairi told me. As I clasped it around my wrist I couldn't help but shed a tear, breaking my 'no crying' policy.

Riku picked me up at 9:45, and together we walked towards the school. There were games, shops, food, music, everything you thought would be at a school festival.

Our band would be performing at 3:00, right after Roxas' band performed, so I had plenty of time to spare. The cooking club held a café, which we heard was a hit with the guys. The waitresses wore frilly maid outfits (Which revealed a _lot_ of cleavage), and a boy can't take an order without having a massive nosebleed.

Talk about moe.

We avoided the café and tried something different. We got our fortunes read by Fuu, who told me I'd enjoy a life of abundance and happiness, yet it'd end by my early 80s. That was _extremely_ depressing to hear. The bad thing was that her guess sounded very accurate.

"How do you know?" I asked her with a hint of suspicion in my voice.

She gave me a long stare with her burgundy red eyes and simply said, "Shinigami."

A death god gave her the answer? Weird.

I remember Riku and I walking past the café, and a guy, who was being carried by two others, had blood all over his face and was repeating the word 'moe' over and over. We already had figured out what happened just by looking at him. Hey, we got high testing scores in the eighth grade, what do you expect?

At 2:30 everyone was pulled into the auditorium for the concert. Like I said, Roxas' band performed first. We were required to play at least three songs, six at the maximum, including one original song.

Our band stood in the audience as Roxas' band played. They played two songs by Asian Kung-Fu Generation, 'Siren' and 'Haruka Kanata'. When they played Haruka Kanata everyone was up on their feet and dancing with the music. Roxas had a great flow with his voice, and his guitar playing had improved tremendously.

_Fumikomu ze akuseru,_

_Kake hiki wa nai sa sou dayo_

_Yoru wo nukeru!_

He was in perfect tune, along with the rest of the band. I wished we could be just like them; and you had to admit, Roxas sounded a lot like Masafumi Goto.

They were done by 2:54, and that gave our band six minutes to get ready. We weren't going to wear our casual clothes; we had something else in mind, hehehe…

We got everything set up at 3:03, and when the curtain opened at least two hundred students' jaws fell to the ground.

I had got the idea after watching _Haruhi Suzumiya_ one day. We wore outfits to suit our personalities. Hitomi was dressed as a tiger, to imply that she was fierce. Sayaka was dressed in an all-blue outfit with teardrops all over, to indicate that she cries easily. Michiko was dressed in a cat outfit, to show that she was shy and afraid of crowds. Finally, I was dressed as in the same bunny suit Haruhi Suzumiya used, to signify that I was the leader. The outfits actually reminded us of our flaws, and that every human being had them.

"Please welcome to the stage, Replica Rapture!" Exclaimed Mrs. Ayato, leaving the four of us to play. The audience gave it's usual applause, and on the count of three we started our original song.

I was astonished to hear my voice through the microphone sound so…clear. It was a rush just to perform in front of my high school, plus add the fact I was in a lacy bunny suit a normal high school wouldn't allow.

When we got to the chorus I started to strum my guitar heavily, doing what Michiko called 'shredding'. Like how she demonstrated, I did it fast and furious, yet I was cautious not to go too fast and make a mistake.

_One slip-up could cause a chain reaction._

Once we were done with the song we received a boisterous applause. I could see Roxas and Namine clapping together, along with Riku and Ventus and Olette and…Kairi?

Kairi! I couldn't see her the entire performance. She had a huge smile on her face, and I could tell she was clapping the loudest. Maybe she had already forgave me.

We performed more non-original songs, and at the last song we got a loud ovation. It made me feel loved and warm inside, like a hug from my grandma. It made me feel like a winner.

I changed back into casual clothing and packed up my guitar. As I headed out the auditorium door I was stopped by someone.

Kairi.

She extended a hand towards me, signaling me to grab it. I did, and she pulled me outside the school, where we sat on the front steps. I found this a great time to apologize, only if she hadn't forgave me already.

She was the one who started the conversation.

"Look Xion, what I said about being sick was-"

"Phony? Yes, I discovered that a long time ago." I interrupted her

To my surprise she shook her head and a tear rolled down her cheek silently. "No, it's true. I really do have AIDS."

"Oh no…Kairi…I'm so sorry…" I leaned in to hug her, almost crying myself. I mistook her all along.

Or maybe…

"I TRICKED YA!" She yelled, pulling away from my embrace. I could've been angry, but at the moment I couldn't help but laugh myself.

"Damn you, Kairi, you almost had me crying! If someone ever passed on an STD to my best friend in the_ world_ I'd kick their-"

"Language, Xi-chan, language." She said, giggling and patting my head. "Anyway, I'm really sorry for how I acted. I was being selfish."

"No, I'm sorry. I should've spent more time with you."

"We're both sorry?"

"I guess…"

"Well, I forgive you."

"I forgive you too. Truce?" I held up my pinky finger.

"Truce." She held up hers and intertwined it with mine. I took notice of her Thalassa shell bracelet, and it was evident she took notice of mine.

When we made those bracelets, we told each other whenever we're both wearing them at the same time, we'll switch, so I'll have Kairi's and she'll have mine.

That day it was the second time we switched off.

* * *

**Awww, this chapter was cute! Next chapter will probably be the best one, or at least one of the most vital ones.**

**I'm still very sorry for not updating in 10 DAYS!**

**OmegaStarShooter14: I honestly like Replica Rapture; I like the emo-ness of it and it just fits Xion's personality. And to tell the truth, I've never seen a movie or read a book where the female wants to take the plunge…I think I made Namine a perv O.O**

**TheKHZeldaFinalFantasyGirl24: If I made Namine preggers in this story, it'll probably take the worst turn possible, then I'll get writers block. I think you have told me you like this story, but I don't you've ever said you liked it a LOT. I'M SO FLATTERED! (God, now I'm quoting Axel, lol)**

**Megan'x'Mysticell: Thank you for reviewing! I like the school life AU stories, only if the characters are extremely OOC. Now that you mention it, I think some one of the characters in MY story are OOC. Anyway, I'm glad you liked the Aqua/L. It was sort of weird for me, and I wanted to add the Death Note dimension with the KH one just because I was having a DN fandom. What you said about Kairi and Xion actually inspired the short fight scene. I thought the story needed to be livened up a tad**

**KeyToOblivion: I don't want to revolve the story too much on the band and sorts. It was planned to be a RokuShi fic, and it will STAY a RokuShi fic, no pun intended. I promise you the next chapter will be taken to an EXTREME level *cue the evil witch laugh***

**FirePhoniex12: Thx for reviewing, I like seeing new faces. For the third and final time, I AM SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING ON TIME! I BEG FOR YOUR FORGIVENESS!**

**Okay then…I guess I'll see ya next chapter! Bye!**

**-XBluexMonarchX**


	13. A Midsummer's Night Dream

**Oh gosh, you guys really must hate me now. I've gotten into Pokemon (Game and manga ONLY! I hate the anime.) again, and I was preoccupied with school, since it's starting soon for me. In fact, speaking of Pokemon, I'm starting a Pokemon fanfic, and if there are any PokeFans out there, you should check it out!**

**Also, you guys may have noticed something last chapter. While Riku and Xion were at the festival, they got their futures predicted by Fuu. When Fuu was examining Xion's future, Xion asked her how she knew. The only response Fuu gave was "Shinigami".**

**Fuu also has red eyes too, right? Put shinigami and red eyes together, and you get "Shinigami Eyes", the popular term used in Death Note, where if you look at a single person's head, you see their full name and life span hovering over it.**

**I decided to make Fuu born with shinigami eyes, like Beyond Birthday, to add some spice to my story. Also, shinigami eyes don't predict another's future. Fuu was just making up that story about how Xion would live a plentiful and abundant life. She could, though.**

**Although she'd die around 80-84.**

**Enough with my blabbering. Let's get another exciting chapter started!**

**Disclaimer: Um...I don't think I have to mention anything here. Okay then!**

* * *

A Midsummer's Night Dream

That night I sat on the edge of my bed, clutching the container of Dad's ashes to my chest. I wondered if he'd be proud of me.

I'm sure he would. He and Mom, they'd be very proud. I managed to create a band, grow new relationships, and visit a new part of the world while they were gone. If only they were alive to see me. If they came back to life somehow, I'd hug them tight and never let them go. I couldn't lose them again.

Over the year I learned how to cherish life deeply. We never know when we, the people of the world, will end our lives. Mom and Dad learned that the hard way, even though they did love life. They loved life only if they were in it together.

I crept out of my room and placed the ashes back on coffee table in the living room. Aqua was already fast asleep, snoring at full volume. I went to sleep as well, dreaming good dreams.

* * *

The next day, a Sunday, Aqua announced she was having a dinner party.

Is that the new fad these days? Dinner parties?

I was supposed to help Aqua with the food, but I got sidetracked by a movie marathon on one of my favorite channels. My only contribution to the making of the food was…well, _nothing_.

The guests came around 5:00, and I got a chance to meet some of Aqua's friends. She introduced me to one of her lifelong friends, Terra Shizuki, who was a factory worker here in Twilight Town and had an evident crush on Aqua. Too bad she has a thing for that other guy.

I met another of her good friends, a lady named Claire Farron, who had moved from Radiant Garden to Twilight Town when Aqua was in high school. She had light pink hair and a cold, tsundere-ish personality. She came along with her little sister, Serah, and her husband **(A/N: I don't like SerahxSnow, so I paired her up with Noel. It's cuter :3)**.

She invited around ten people, not including that Ryuga-guy, and once we got the dining room table set up we dug in. Well, _them _at least. I couldn't eat with them, since Aqua didn't want me to ruin her precious party. As an alternative I was banished to eat instant food.

Talk about child abuse!

I ate my stupid instant food in my room and took a catnap, so by the time I woke up the food would be cooled down.

I intended on sleeping until 7:00, but I overslept and woke up 11, and all the guests (obviously) had departed. Aqua wasn't asleep, but in the traditional room, a room which our family uses to calm ourselves. We believe in chakra, and we meditate occasionally.

I tiptoed inside, soon to find out Aqua was meditating. Her eyelids were shut, almost as if they were glued together. I could tell she didn't know of my presence, so I crept closer. It was evident she was…crying?

Aqua never cries! Unless…

"Aqua, are you okay?!" I shouted, causing her to open her eyes and stumble back on the tatami mat. Her hair was a mess, sticking out in weird directions, and her eyes were terribly bloodshot.

"I knew it'd happen…" She muttered, wiping her eyes. "He died in his sleep."

"Who died?! Tell me, Aqua, I'm here for you!"

"Just leave me _alone_! You don't understand anything, you haven't experienced any pain to know what I'm feeling!" Aqua screamed at me, standing up and trying to hold herself upright.

I was in a rage myself. "I've been through a _lot _in my life, you don't know what you're talking about!" I spat at her, yelling louder than her. "My parents are dead, my crush was stolen from me, and I had to leave my friends and travel a million miles to live in a wasteland! How do you fucking expect me to be stable after what I've been through?!"

Aqua was silent and just stared at me. Suddenly, in a blink of an eye, I felt myself in the arms of Aqua herself.

"I'm just angry because…" Aqua started, her words slightly slurred. "No, not angry. But I'm not sad either. I…feel guilty.

"I've been hiding his identity for a while. His name isn't Ryuga, or Ryuzaki or Suzuki or _anything_ else, he's L. L, the greatest detective in the world. He died in his sleep, I just found out. I never got a chance to tell him how I feel…"

I was released and her lips curled into a smile. "Xion, I know you love someone out there. Promise me you tell them how you feel before it's too late."

I smiled as well. "Aqua, I blew that chance a long time ago."

"I guess we're both guilty then."

"Yeah." I looked in her eyes. She lived a bitter life, the life no one wanted. I didn't want her to end her life in sorrow and despair. She needed a bittersweet ending.

I was glad we were there for each other.

"Hey, Aqua?"

"Hm?"

"How did you fall in love with the world's greatest detective in the first place?"

She looked at me for a moment, then threw her head back and laughed. "That's a looonnnggg story. You sure you wanna hear it?"

I nodded, and we proceeded back to the tatami mat, where she explained everything.

It was the time of the Kira murder cases, when L helped the Japanese Task Force capture Kira. Kira, or Light Yagami in this case, went to Aqua's school, and she was skeptical about him from the day she met him.

She told me she wanted to be a detective herself, and helping out on the Kira case was a great way to broaden her horizons. She heard of the Task Force, and she purposely flunked her Entrance Exams to join it. That way, university wouldn't interfere with her work.

She met L, whom he introduced to her as 'Hideki Ryuga', and she managed to pick away at his façade. L was impressed by how she figured out he was the world's greatest detective, and he offered her a spot with the Task Force. She gradually began to fall in love with L during their endeavors, even if L was completely oblivious of her feelings.

Three years passed, and Aqua was twenty and still working on the case. Her parents were killed, and Aqua suspected it was Kira's doing, since her mother and father had criminal records in the past. Once they find out Light was Kira, Aqua was the one who shot him, and contributed to his death.

Only the real person who fully killed Kira was Ryuk, his Shinigami.

He had a Death Note, a notebook which allowed a person to kill another only by writing down their name. Aqua told me all about it, as well as the Shinigami eyes and the effects of the Death Note.

By the time she was done explaining, it was around midnight and I was ready to flop back on the bed. I had the answers I had been craving for the past year, and I was satisfied.

I hoped Aqua would be strong and move on.

* * *

December 17th, 2015

Winter kicked in, and everyone was in the jolly spirit for Christmas. My band had been working on a new song, I was hanging out with Kairi more, and Aqua was doing well with the loss of L. In fact, she told me she learned a coping mechanism that boosts self-esteem and pacifies the well-being of a human being.

I'm surprised I caught all of that.

There was only one thing that could ruin the ebullient atmosphere of Winter. And I'm not talking about Winter Exams.

"A DOUBLE DATE GETAWAY!"

I was approached by Namine and Roxas at lunch, and boy were they excited. Namine's father agreed on renting a beach house on Destiny Islands for four days of winter break, just for a double date. They said it would be them, me and Riku…

_Riku?!_

"You guys seem so cute together!" Namine squealed. "Maybe you guys can hook up…"

Right when I opened my mouth to protest Namine said, "And before you say no, Riku already agreed to the trip, so you have no choice but to go with us."

I sighed and let out a muffled 'yes'. Namine squealed once again and hugged me, lifting me off the ground.

I was _not_ going to let her play matchmaker. I was perfectly fine single, even though Riku _was_ a pretty nice guy.

"By the way Namine, do we have any supervision for this trip?" I asked her.

"Not from my parents, no, but there'll be people there to know if we're having sex or doing anything bad."

Um…I don't think that'll stop Namine from, you know…

I was given permission from Aqua, and we would be leaving on the 20th, the first day of break. Aqua, of course, was happy for me. Or maybe she was just happy she got a job here in Twilight Town. She worked at that cosplay café, the one I went to with Roxas. I just hope she wasn't being dressed in a Haruhi Suzumiya costume…

Now I had one reason to steer clear of that café.

* * *

"Okay Xion, you have everything?"

"Yup!"

"Your swimsuit, sun tan lotion, underwe-"

"Yes Aqua, I've already said it!"

She giggled and gave me a broad smile. "Okey-dokey then, have a safe trip!" She started the ignition on her car and sped off, leaving me at the train station with thousands of other people, my luggage in my grasp. The day had came, the double date 'getaway' day.

I found Namine, Roxas and Riku standing by the train to Destiny Islands, waving me over.

"How many swimsuits did you pack?" Namine asked me hurriedly and excitedly. "Did you pack a bikini? Tankini? One piece? Please don't tell me you packed a one-"

"Namine, I'll just tell you I packed three swimsuits. Is that good enough for you?" I told her, exasperated to the max. Does sex appeal really matter?

Riku turned to me and gave me a smile of his. "I think you'd look good in any kind of bathing suit, Xion."

I blushed abundantly and avoided his gaze. "Um, thank you, I guess." Namine nudged me, causing me to blush even more.

Gosh, maybe I _did _like him.

_All aboard train number 6 to Destiny Islands, all aboard!_

The intercom crackled to life, instructing us to board the train. We found a spot near the back and settled ourselves. It would be a four hour ride, so we had prepared with plenty of snacks and things to occupy ourselves. I brought along a heck of a lot of books, and for the beach I brought my camera I got for Christmas in eighth grade (which I neglected completely). I zoned out of the conversation the other three had on the way, and I focused on my book.

One thing I _did_ notice was Riku. He would occasionally look my way, but when I met his gaze he would turn his head the opposite direction and blush.

It was around 12:00 when the intercom spoke again.

_We've arrived! Please exit the train and bring any belongings with you. Have a nice day!_

We packed up our possessions and departed the train. Namine and, surprisingly Roxas, were bubbly about the entire trip. I just hoped they didn't take the whole 'double date' thing too seriously…

I knew that wouldn't happen.

* * *

"So you've already made reservations to stay at one of our beach homes?"

"Yes, my father rented the house about a week ago. It supposedly has two bedrooms, one bathroom, a living room and a kitchen, correct?"

"Ah, you mean the Lover's Hut? It's a popular home here in the islands."

"Yeah, I think that's what my dad said." Namine and the rest of us walked with the beach guide as she lead us to our home. Namine knew the island really well, so she told the guide not to show us around it.

"And here it is!" The guide lady exclaimed, introducing us to the dwelling we would be staying in for the next four days. "We got it refurbished a few months ago, yet some spots are a bit creaky and old, so be cautious of where you step."

On the outside it was a straw hut with a staircase leading to the front door. Inside, the walls were made of pure mahogany, as well as the floors. The living room was complete with tatami mats, traditional Japanese cushions, and a 46 inch television. The kitchen was basically the kitchen in my own house, modern and contemporary. Same as the bathroom.

The bedrooms, though, were really something. Both used futon instead of a regular queen sized bed, and it was completely traditional. To get inside you used sliding doors, and we used to-the-floor tables and cushions. It was like I wanted to take the room back home and destroy mine.

"The beaches are open all day, except for when the turtle eggs hatch. When that happens, make sure you turn off all the lights in your home. They'll hatch by the tie you're asleep, so the lights would be off anyway." The guide lady explained to us.

"Why do we need to turn off the lights?" Roxas asked the lady. I couldn't help but facepalm.

Riku turned to him and answered his question. "When the mama turtle comes onto shore, she leaves about 100 eggs, called a clutch, in a spot on the beach. She goes back to the ocean, and in time the eggs hatch. They hatch at night, so they use the moon to guide them to the ocean so they can start their lives on their own. Any light other than the moonlight could cause them to go in the wrong direction and get killed. Only about 1 or 2 turtles in a clutch make it alive. Sometimes they get eaten by sharks in the water, or they get captured by a dog or an eagle. When they're in their eggs, raccoons and other animals dig them up and eat them as well."

"I used to be in a group here in Destiny Islands where we helped baby turtles reach their goal." Namine told us.

The guide lady beamed at us and said, "Well, let's make sure we keep those turtles safe. Anyway, there are many restaurants and shops here on the islands, as well as the beach. I hope you all have a nice vacation!"

She left the house, and we were left to unpack our things. Then, we began arguing on what to do first.

Namine wanted to go to the beach.

Roxas wanted to eat something.

Riku just wanted to do _something_.

I wanted to go back to my book.

We all finally decided on venturing out to the beach, and we all changed in our bedrooms (Me with Riku, and Namine with Roxas…well, I didn't actually _change_ with Riku, ew! I shared a room with him). I had a little surprise for Namine…

* * *

"YOU BROUGHT A BIKINI, OMIGOD XION! OMIGOD, OMIGOD, OMIGOD!"

I knew Namine would take it like that.

Believe it or not, Aqua dragged me out on a shopping trip the day before we arrived at the islands. It was my first bikini, a sharp black the same color as my hair. I actually kind of liked it, at least more than the dreadful red one Aqua suggested on buying.

The beach was crowded with people, and it took ten minutes for us to find a decent place for us to lay our beach towels. We eventually found a spot smack-dab in the middle of the beach, probably the sandiest spot in all of the beach. Seriously, we had to lay our towels on mounds of sand. _Mounds_.

Once we settled, Namine and Roxas ran towards the water at full speed, and they began splashing each other immediately. Riku played volleyball with a bunch of other guys, and I remained on my comfy (sort of) towel, determined on finishing my book. It was getting to the interesting part when I heard a loud yell from Namine.

"XION! COME JOIN US! COME ON!" Namine waved frantically at me, jumping up and down to get my attention. Hey, what did I have to lose?

I joined the two and together we continuously splashed each other. Roxas forced Riku to join us as well, and we all had fun just randomly splashing each other.

The double date getaway wasn't like this all the time, though. Namine's dad gave Namine a limited supply of money to do things on the island, and we couldn't always go to a fancy restaurant for food. We would be sent out on shopping trips to the market, and we had to make our own food.

There were also those…well, _lovey-dovey _nights, where we would all watch a rented rom-com or something, and Namine and Roxas would cuddle and kiss from time to time, sometimes even go into a full make out session.

Then, when we went to sleep, I had to sleep with Riku on the futon.

It was extremely awkward, when we would pretend to fall asleep when we were really wondering what would happen next. And when Riku actually fell _asleep_, he would snore.

And when I mean snore, I mean really _loud_ snores.

It wasn't the dream double date getaway I see in the movies. It was actually realistic, and I liked it that way.

On the last night of the getaway, when everyone was asleep, I decided to go out to the beach and just look at ocean. It was strangely calming, how the gentle waves of the sea could easily relax my mind. I also adored the seashells that lie beside the shores. They come in all sorts of colors; a light crimson, a subtle azure, sometimes even a beautiful mauve. Throughout the trip I found one each day.

"Couldn't sleep?"

Riku's voice broke through my thoughts and I turned around to see him, in cargo shorts and a sweater, barefoot.

"Nah, I just want to look at the ocean one last time."

He grinned and pulled me up. "I want to show you something."

I followed him as he led me to the far end of the beach, where he showed me a curved palm tree. He casually sat on it, signaling me to sit beside him.

"I used to go on vacations here with Sora all the time when we were kids." He started, looking out at the ocean. "That's why I know this island so well."

I didn't respond, only I gazed at the sea, just like him.

"I actually had to tell you something."

"Hm?"

He kept his eyes on the ocean and said softly, "The school wants me to advance a grade."

Shocked, I took my eyes off the ocean and looked into his. "They are? Why?!"

He sighed heavily and looked down at the sand. "They told me I got abnormally good grades on the Winter Exams, and they think I'm good enough for 11th grade. I just don't want to leave you guys."

"Well, we could see each other, can't we? I mean, juniors and sophomores don't eat together at lunch, and of course we're not in the same classes anymore, but we could meet in one of our classrooms and in the hall, can't we?"

"Yeah, but it's not that simple. I really want to be with you, with all the sophomores. But I want to make my parents proud." He jumped off the tree and pulled off a star shaped figure from the tree. He sat back down next to me and handed me the star.

"What's this?"

He smiled and blushed slightly. "It's a paopu fruit. Legend says that if two people share it, their destinies will be intertwined. That way if I accept that offer, I'll be with you no matter what."

Riku wanted our destinies to intertwine…is that a romantic gesture?

I returned his smile and said, "I'll be happy to share one with you, Riku, as long if it means we'll be together, always."

"Okay then, on the count of three." We held the paopu fruit and positioned our mouths. "One…two…three!"

We took bites of the star shaped fruit. It tasted really sweet, with a hint of tartness. Once we fully swallowed the fruit, we set the fruit down and just smiled at each other.

"So now we'll be together forever."

"Yeah." He brushed a strand of my hair to the side and scooted closer to me. My heart start to pound faster, adrenaline rushing throughout my body. Was he…going to…

"Xion, I love you."

Those words didn't seem to take me by surprise. Throughout the time I spent with Riku I gradually began to love him too. Now that our destinies are intertwined, we'll be together forever.

"I love you too."

He leaned in and brushed his lips over mine, the short kiss that made you want more. I leaned in myself and kissed him, full on. It was a bittersweet moment, although the sweetness dominated the bitterness.

Riku took my first kiss, and I took his.

For the rest of the night we just sat on the tree, both asleep, my head resting on his shoulder. We were together forever, and no one could change that.

Maybe except one person.

* * *

**…**

**…**

**I'm starting to like RikuShi now XD**

**Speaking of RikuShi, did you like that moment at the end? I thought it was adorable :3 Hey, maybe I'll right a RikuShi fic one day.**

**TheKHZeldaFinalFantasyGirl24 : I promise more of Axel next chapter! I PROMISE! **

**OmegaStarShooter14: I would like Kairi to die in this story, since I hate her so much, but that would be mean to my readers ;3 Riku doesn't come on the side, he's the full course in this chapter!**

**Ractay14: I need to be hard on myself for updating late, but sometimes I can't help it. Since the school year is coming up I tend to be much busier than usual. I've said this for the billionth time, but forgive me again for updating late this time.**

**Tinge: I'm really flattered! Thank you! Maybe I should update late sometimes so you can get anticipated more…whatever, but thank you again! **

**AnimexLuver4Ever: I LOVE KPOP! IT'S AH-MAZING! Like I said, my personal favorite from Girls Generation is Sunny, and I wuv Super Junior too! And Shi-NEE, they're awesome :D**

**13NeverForget14: Now I'm sorry for saying sorry too many times! I don't understand how people can do so many things at once: type a fanfiction, hang out with friends, deal with school, manage all of your online accounts, etc!**

**I haven't updated in a month, but I'm gonna make a comeback readers! Thx for reading another chapter of Turning Tides!**

**~XBluexMonarchX **


	14. Faking It

**I WISH I HAD A 3DS!**

***Le epic sad face***

**KHDDD had been out for a while now and I still don't have the game, NOR a 3DS to even play it. I'm trying to sell my DS for a while, and I haven't got a chance to trade it in at GameStop or whatnot. There's also a bunch of other games I want to get, so I guess I'll just have to save up…boohoo.**

**Anyway, let's get on with another chapter! I'm in the middle of writing the prologue for my new fanfic, so I'll be switching gears a bit. Also, I just started a new year at middle school, so don't expect me to update every single day. Many of you have been saying I say sorry too much. I agree with all of you.**

**Maybe I'm just a socially awkward penguin.**

**I'm getting off topic! Let's get this chapter STARTED! And by the way, the next two chapters will be written in third person omniscient, just to emphasize the reactions towards Xion and Riku's relationship.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Death Note, Final Fantasy and any of its characters. All belong to their respective owners.**

* * *

Faking It

Roxas blankly stared at the wall, listening to Namine's tranquil snores beside him. He heard a pair of feet shuffling out the front door earlier, as well as another pair too. He assumed it was just Xion and Riku, taking one last look at the ocean. Something seemed to trouble him, though.

He gradually began to get concerned. This concern turned to trepidation, and the young man sat up on the futon, stood up abruptly and raced to the bedroom. He felt the need to know what was going on outside that front door of the hut.

Namine was quickly roused from Roxas' behavior and got up as well, not sure what was going on exactly. She followed him outside their bedroom and into the front room where Roxas opened the door to the beach.

They ventured outside the hut, Namine tugging lightly on his nightshirt. The sun was beginning to rise, lighting the path for the couple. They walked the whole stretch of the beach, until they came across the curved paopu tree, where they found Xion and Riku, sleeping contently under the faint rays of the sun.

Roxas couldn't exactly describe what he felt right then. Namine thought it was adorable, as her main goal that weekend was for the pair to hook up.

Suddenly a smile curved upon Roxas' lips. He was glad his best friend found the one for her.

He and Namine walked back to the hut. There was no point in going back to bed; they planned on making a breakfast for all of them to eat.

* * *

Roxas gazed out the extensive window before him, listening to the silent patter of the rain. The group didn't expect it to rain on the day of departure; they didn't prepare themselves with umbrellas, raincoats, nothing.

Namine was beside him on the rain ride home, only the entire time she was asleep. Riku and Xion were reading over a book, periodically whispering in each other's ears and laughing. Roxas wasn't exactly envious of their newfound relationship. In fact, he was probably happier than ever to see his childhood friend come to love someone. But there was this certain aura that sort of descended upon the couple, you know? Like they would be together forever.

Of course, Roxas was completely oblivious to the fact that they shared a paopu fruit together. Even if they did break up, they'd still be good friends.

The group had finally arrived back at Twilight Town in moments. They exchanged farewells, and they parted ways.

On the car ride home Xion came to tell Aqua about how romantic the getaway was. Aqua, being the caring person she is, listened to every word of Xion's babbling, nodding and asking questions. She was always the ideal person to talk to, and that's why Xion was glad to even have her as a relative alone.

Riku was pretty much the same as Xion when it came to telling his parents about the trip. His father, Sousuke Shinami, was the least bit skeptical about his son dating a girl they've never met, but once Riku told him that she had got the highest testing scores in the eighth grade, he relaxed a bit.

Namine was giddy and overall satisfied about the trip, and she eventually reimbursed her father with the leftover money. She told her parents (and her enormous amount of siblings) how she missed the islands.

Roxas' car ride was much more discreet and unobtrusive than the others. Roxas had put up the enthusiastic act for Namine, just so he didn't seem like a jerk. Truthfully, he never actually wanted to go on the trip in the first place. When he was out of Namine's sight, however, he could truly express how he felt.

Sometimes he felt as if his relationship with Namine was a tad bit flaky. She wasn't the overly-attached-girlfriend **(A/N: I really wanted to add that in there, hehe.)**, but she did seem like she exaggerated their relationship to the max. He did love her though.

When Roxas got home, the first thing did wasn't unpack. It was answering a call from Namine.

"Hey Roxy!" She shouted through the phone.

"Uh…hi Namine. What's up?"

"I've been wondering…how about we meet up for a Christmas Eve together? Like maybe dinner, or a movie-"

Roxas interrupted her brusquely and told her, "Look Nami, we already spent a whole four days together. Let's just take a break for a while, alright?"

Silence.

"If that's what you want, I understand. I'm pretty tired myself."

"Let's make a date for our anniversary coming up, is that okay?"

"Sure Roxas. I'll see you later."

"Bye…"

He awkwardly hung up and slid his cell back in his pocket. He was starting to rethink that Namine _was _the overly-attached-girlfriend.

If only he knew that Namine was planning on breaking up.

* * *

**Oooh, cliffhanger! It's a short chapter, I know, but it's an important one. The RokuNami-ness ends here…**

**Time for answers!**

**OmegaStarShooter14****: Namine IS crazy. She's a psychotic evil witch. Jk, but I do sort of hate her. RIKUSHI IS AWESOME!**

**Ractay14****: Maybe Xion does, maybe she doesn't. I think all of her feelings are completely eradicated, and she full-on loves Riku.**

**13NeverForget14: ****I think the TerQua won't be so one-sided later in the story. And by the way, I'm wrapping up the story soon; it may have about three or four more chapters. I'm writing a new fanfic now and it may get it in the way.**

**Tinge: ****Are you serious?! You check it REGULARLY? I'm honored! Yeah, I'm gradually starting to love RikuShi as well, but RokuShi will ALWAYS be the best. Always.**

**rokushi-lover: I understand how you feel. Well, mainly because of your username. Actually, my feelings aren't hurt at all, and I don't take it personally. You may stop reading this fic for as long as you want. Trust me, the RokuShi is coming pretty soon.**

**HeartsMockingjay: ****I know! They're ADORABLE together! By the way, I can tell you're new to the fanfiction community, so welcome! And thanks for the feedback!**

**TheKHZeldaFinalFantasyGirl24 : ****I ASSURE YOU ROKUSHI WILL COME UP, I PROMISE! (Sorry for the annoying caps lock, lol) Yeah, I'm officially a socially awkward penguin, so I'll say sorry A LOT. Even my parents tell me to give it a rest.**

**Thanks for reading! Next chapter will be longer and better, and not as boring as this one. Sayonara!**

**~XBluexMonarchX**


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